American in Hogwarts
by AJ Freas
Summary: It's the winter of 1998 and two American students transfer to the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. With the war brewing (in Hogwarts and out in the world), whose side will they take? AU/OC Chambers, fraternal twins. Rated for occasional strong language, war and deaths.
1. Ish-land

**Something Wasn't Right in Ish-land**

It was a cold and gloomy January afternoon. Sure the snow had stopped, but the air was damp, the ground was slick and the sky was dark threatening another storm. The sidewalks were sparsely filled with brave souls (or foolish, we were talking about winter in London after all) making their way to and from their destinations leaving the snow packed where they trod.

There were three fools standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring up at a store's hanging wooden sign. The male was Andrew (Drew) Chambers, an all American apple pie seventeen year old teenager that played baseball (shortstop) and football (quarterback, I'm talking about _American_ football, not soccer) with blonde hair, mother's deep blue eyes and a chip on his broad shoulders. Hey, I was allowed to say that; no one else had better dare. He's my brother and not _just_ my brother, he's my fraternal twin.

As for me, my name's Andrea (or Andi with an i) Chambers. I was a cheerleader. Don't mock me, I was given a choice: cheer or play sports. Playing could lead to a broken nail; so my choice was a no brainer. While I had the same blonde hair that my entire family sported various shades of, I had father's pale blue eyes that were nearly gray. We were both muscularly built, quite bright despite our outward personas (even if I did say so myself) and had dimples on each cheek (that was four dimples each for a total of eight. That's right eight. Count them… I'll wait…).

We were both tall, Andrew was freakishly so at six foot two, while I sported a decent five foot nine. That being said, it meant we both towered over the third insane person standing out in the cold. Rebecca (Mom) Chambers née Burke, a petite woman in her late thirties, sandy blonde hair and those deep blue eyes she shared with Andrew. She was the only one of us that wasn't born and raised in America. Mom was an Ish (Ishes were the English, Scottish and Irish, because really you couldn't tell them apart… well Mom could, but that's because she was one of them and we were narrow minded Americans… according to her. She could be right, but whatever). Mom's branch of the Burke family moved to the States back in the late 70s after she graduated from Hogwarts. That was such a weird name. The full name of the school was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Did I mention that we were magical? Mom and I were witches and Andrew was a wizard. Sadly for the Major, he was born a No-Maj.

The Major? That was Dad. Douglas Lee Chambers aka 'the Major' was in the U.S. Army. He was very strict with the family because our actions were a reflection on him and the Major was on the fast track to his next promotion. Which was why when he was recently stationed at The Joint Analysis Center at Royal Air Force Station Molesworth we were forced to go with him. Molesworth… the name was almost as ridiculous as Hogwarts.

The sign outside the store that we were staring at read 'Leaky Cauldron'. It hung above the door to a shabby establishment and that was being generous. The outside of the pub looked rather run down and unwelcoming, but I was cold. I could overlook shabby chic if it meant warming up.

Mom finally spoke, "This must be it."

"Ya think?" I asked sarcastically. The words slipped out before I could stop them. I didn't mean to say it, but seriously? I was cold, my warming charms didn't help my exposed nose and ears and dammit I really wanted a grande caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Andrew snorted behind us and I gave Mom a crooked grin to show her that I was teasing and hopefully I wouldn't get smacked on the back of the head for my smart mouth. Thankfully Mom just gave me an eyeroll. So naturally I started up again. "What gave it away? Could it have been the charming sign, the welcoming look of the pub itself or the blatantly obvious name?"

"Oh the sarcasm…" Mom huffed, "Well at least you're not brooding like your brother."

We turned to look at Andrew. He didn't smile. He didn't speak. But he did grunt. He can be such a neanderthal. I canted my head towards the door and he narrowed his eyes at me as if to say 'I know'… which he did, but he was taking too long for my liking. He grabbed the door of the pub, yanking it open as if the thing had offended him in some way. As annoyed as the goofball was, he better not forget his manners or he'd face the wrath of the Major.

Mom pursed her lips when she passed him and entered the establishment. I moved to follow, but paused in the doorway and peered up at my twin. I poked my brother in the belly and gave him a word of advice, "Lighten up on Mom. She's just as stuck here as we are. Remember, it's the Major's fault we're here in this Ish hell."

Andrew's eyes narrowed briefly as if he thought to argue, but his demeanor calmed, "She agreed, Andi."

"Well, sure," I shrugged. "It was either argue with the Major or move. Mom picks her battles like we all do. Family unity in the eyes of the military is important to him." He scowled at me because that too he knew. "I didn't say I agreed with the move. I just said he thinks it's important."

He gave a small nod of acquiescence before ushering me inside. That was a nice way of saying he pushed me out of the way so he could close the door.

I got a good look at the inside of the pub. I could sum it up in one word. Ew.

The Leaky Cauldron's interior wasn't much better than its exterior. There were all sorts of patrons: young (me and Andrew), middle aged (Mom), old (everyone else), short, tall, humans and hags. The pub was dreary and it had a lingering smell of old ale… or dirty socks… it was hard to tell which.

I wrinkled my nose, "This place is disgusting." I was seriously considering casting a bubble head charm to save my poor frozen nose. The only positive I could think of was that at least the place was warm.

"Come on," Andrew prodded me forward, "Mom's flagging us down."

Looking over at the bar, Mom was speaking to an elderly man with grey wisps of comb over hair and a warm smile. She waved us over and it took everything within me to not go running and screaming out the front door to the nearest Starbucks.

The bartender motioned for us to follow him and he began talking as if he'd known us forever instead of less than five minutes, "Life must be so different fer ya here." None of us responded because it wasn't a question and we were taught not to volunteer information. The wizard brought us to the back alley and stopped before a brick wall. "Alright then, y'll need yer wand. Just tap tha right brick and it opens to ya. Here from the trashcan, three up and two across."

Mom smoothly removed her wand from her hidden skirt pocket and tapped the brick the man had pointed out. The small rumble told of her success and soon the wall opened from a solid barrier to a perfect archway. Mom smiled at the man, "Excellent. Thank you for your assistance, Tom."

"Good day to ya then. Take care of yer family, young man."

I looked back at Tom, but he was already making his way back into the pub. Andrew looked at Mom, then me and then looked through the portal to Diagon Alley. I turned my attention back to see Mom already stepped through the archway and followed her.

Diagon Alley was surprisingly deserted for a Saturday afternoon in January. Sure school was already back in session, but you'd think there'd be some sign of life out there. Hell several shops looked to be closed up or abandoned!

Mom had our list of supplies from Hogwarts and began looking it over. I had it practically memorized since the only thing that really changed on a shopping list were the books required. So I told her, "It's the usual things: books, potion supplies, school robes…" My voice drifted off as I pondered our shopping needs, "We both have cauldrons, or at least mine is fine." We looked at Andrew who simply nodded to indicate that his cauldron was still in good working conditions. I decided to ignore him again. Brooding teenaged boys are such a pain. So I told Mom, "We both have scales and writing utensils."

Andrew snorted, "How backwards are these people to still use parchment, quill and ink?"

Crap. I forgot about that. Mom just brushed off his concern, "It's tradition. So long as you turn in your assignments written with a quill on parchment, I don't think using pens and spiral notebooks to take notes will be that big of a deal."

"We'll need parchment, quills and ink," I amended the growing shopping list.

Andrew broke in again, "I need more vials and I'm dropping Astronomy. So I won't need my telescope."

"Me, too." I quickly agreed, "I don't see the point in taking Astronomy. Learning the lunar phases was more important than knowing where stars are located and we've already learned about those in fifth year." I pointed out the required books. "I'm not sure we should buy all our books. While the core courses aren't an issue, there may be trouble fitting all the electives we want into the schedules." I chanced a glance at Andrew, "I don't think they offer any healing courses."

"We'll have to work something out for your summer then." Mom held up her hand to stall any argument from Andrew, "It isn't ideal, but we work with what we have."

Andrew bit back whatever he wanted to say and gave a terse nod repeating the family litany, "We are the Major's children."

I turned to Andrew and took up the next line, "We work together; we do what we must; we do what's right; we do what needs to be done."

He smirked at me and said, "We don't take the easy way out; we don't prey on the weak; we don't discuss family business."

I had to wrinkle my nose at Andrew and he nudged me playfully so I finished it, "We are to behave appropriately at all times - in public and at home - and never embarrass the Chambers name."

Mom sighed, "That gets longer every time I hear it."

"Maybe, but heaven forbid we miss something…" Andrew let that thought linger between us.

Changing the subject back to our mission for the day, Mom started walking. "When you get your schedules worked out, send me an owl with any further books or supplies you need. I'll get everything and send it out ASAP." She looked around the alley and decided, "Since we don't know where anything is, let's go on an adventure and see what we run into first."

An adventure was Mom's code for 'I'm lost and haven't a clue where we are'. I looped my arm in Mom's and we started off. Adventures could be fun if you went on them with an open mind. When we were younger, Mom was going to take us to a museum, but went north instead of south. She didn't realize her mistake until we neared an amusement park so we went there for the day instead. That was a fabulous adventure.

The majority of the shops were dreary and not decorated as one would expect so shortly after the holidays. Back in the States the after Christmas sales would still be going strong. I had to say that one shop stood out above the rest. It was colorful and so over the top. The building was purple with orange framed windows. If that wasn't outlandish enough there was a man that was bigger than life bursting through the front store windows in order to tip his top hat to passersby.

My feet stopped moving. I couldn't tear my gaze from the place. Andrew was at my elbow, "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?"

"It's awesome." I said. My voice sounded funny, almost breathy. I mean the store was great, but not _that_ great. Sure I had never seen a store like it before, but still I had to get a grip.

Andrew couldn't help grinning. The shop was a spectacle which you had to admit was definitely a lure to bring in the customers. He looked over at Mom and asked, "Can we check it out?"

Mom smiled at him for the first time since we were told about the move (probably because it was the first time he was even remotely interested in anything Ish) and said, "Yes."

As we drew closer to the store, I had to deal with sensory overload. The colors of the products in the windows assaulted your eyes and made them nearly hard to look at. I was almost afraid to enter. Andrew walked over to read a sign aloud, "Why are you worrying about You-Know-Who? You should be worrying about U-No-Poo. The constipation sensation that's gripping the nation."

"Don't know this You-Know-Who, but that's clever. Disgusting, but clever," I admitted. I turned to look at Mom to ask her opinion, but she had gone ramrod straight. Her eyes were scanning the area and I was immediately on alert. "Mom?"

Andrew hadn't missed Mom's reaction either, "What gives?"

"We have to go." Was all she said. She backed away from the store, refusing to go near it and said, "We have shopping to do."

Andrew and I exchanged worried glances, but kept quiet for the time being. Something spooked Mom and we knew better than to argue. Andrew peered at the store as we walked away and noted, "It's not open anyhow."

That was a shame really. It had charm. Too many stores were closed. It made me wonder if the wizarding world in Ish-land was fading away. Andrew spoke again, "Mom?"

"Come along you two," Mom urged. "If we dawdle, your father will be home before we are."

We exchanged another look and Andrew checked his watch. It wasn't late. I knew that when he shook his head. Something wasn't right in Ish-land and Mom wanted out of that Alley fast.

So without another word from the two of us, we did as she asked. We picked up the pace and did our shopping. The clerks were so grateful to have customers that they fawned over us. It was a bit annoying really. They'd follow us and help pick out our items as if we weren't sure about what we needed. They were at our side throughout the store and ushered us back out again. After the third store I realized they weren't grateful for our patronage, they were suspicious and wanted us out of their store.

I really had questions once that realization hit me. Still I kept them to myself, but was more alert of my surroundings after that. We made it through the majority of our list with one more stop to make.

It was while we were in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions that we saw other shoppers than us. I was standing on a pedestal being fitted when a blonde couple entered.

My parents were blonde. Andrew and I were blonde. These two were beyond blonde to nearly white. The woman was elegant and stylish while the man was aristocratic. I mean really, he had a silver tipped cane and it was obviously only for looks. If it wasn't for the look he gave us (like he smelled something gross) I would have thought he was as beautiful as his wife.

The blondes weren't so interesting in themselves, it was the sudden shift in the shop that caught Andrew's attention. It was as if the room entire room went still, holding its breath. Even the chatty Madam Malkin grew quiet and kept her head down as the couple walked through the racks towards the back of the store.

I knew the couple had gained Andrew's attention because the moment they walked in, he put the trousers he had been looking at back onto the rack and made his way back to Mom and me. He's very protective of Mom, overly protective of me. Another of the Major's influences. One I didn't particularly care for. Andrew ran off many potential boyfriends. I was seventeen and I still hadn't had a date. At that rate, I'd be a spinster before I got my first kiss!

The woman was busy taking off her gloves. The man walked with the air of royalty. The more I watched, the less I liked him and I didn't even know him. He just gave off an icky vibe. It could also have something to do with the way he was looking at Mom.

The store's proprietor waved over one of her girls and left me in her care as she went to the newcomers, "Lady Malfoy, always a pleasure to see you. How can I help you today?"

"I need a new winter cloak for my son." The lady's voice drifted off as the two moved away to another part of the store.

The husband, presumably Mr. Malfoy… Lord Malfoy… Sir Malfoy? Whatever he was called, he was still giving Mom a long look that made me want to whip out my wand and hex him. Andrew clenched his fists as he stared the man down. The Malfoy guy didn't even look in Andrew's direction.

Mom had turned her back on the couple the moment she saw them coming our way. The Malfoy creeper finally got bored with looking at her back (or got his fill looking at her backside… ew) and went to his wife.

"That'll do, Miss." The sales girl said and motioned for me to step down.

Andrew was there at my side immediately to help me down. I looked at him questioningly, but took his hand all the same. "Thanks," I said to the both of them before ducking into a dressing room.

I was so relieved to put my own clothes back on. Don't get me wrong. I like wearing dresses and skirts, but that school uniform was just so cliché: pleated gray skirt, white oxford shirt and a tie. Britney Spears much?

Andrew took my place on the pedestal. His face was unreadable as he stared down the Malfoy man. I thought he was being ridiculous. The Malfoy twit wasn't even paying us any attention. The sales girl didn't speak; she just began pinning the bottom of his robes.

While I wasn't a huge fan of wizarding couture, I had to admit Madam Malkin's had a decent variety of clothing and some of it was No-Maj influenced. I was lost in the racks, oblivious to the world around me when I was suddenly face to face with the Malfoy jerk.

He didn't speak, so I didn't either. We simply stared at each other and I felt it. There was a brush against my occlumency shield and the man's brow quirked in surprise or amusement. He grinned slowly at me which was even creepier than how he stared at Mom.

Speaking of Mom she was at my side in a flash and steering me away, "I saw something you might like."

We all knew that was a lie, but I let her guide me away. Only he spoke before we could make it more than two steps, "Rebecca Burke."

"Lucius Malfoy," Mom turned to face him. Her head was held high and her accent was thicker than I'd ever heard it before, "It's Chambers now."

"Fascinating," he said, "I thought the Burke line died out years ago."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Mom didn't sound sorry at all. At least I knew where I got my sarcasm from.

"Not disappointed at all," Luscious Lucius Malfoy spoke and I felt a bit warm and twisty inside. His accent, that voice was…

I swallowed thickly. He was an arrogant creep. I had to keep reminding myself of that. Not to mention he was old (since he had to be at least Mom's age since they knew each other) and let's not forget married, but he was really handsome up close and didn't I mention his voice?

"Andrea," Mom called.

"Hmmm?" I pulled my gaze from Luscious and blinked at Mom. She frowned at me and I immediately asked, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Go see to your brother."

"Yes, ma'am," I didn't want to. Luscious smelled good. Besides Andrew was a big boy. He could take care of himself, but I knew it wasn't a request. I stole a glance at the Malfoy hunk and saw that knowing grin on his handsome face. Ass. I just raised my eyebrow at him and gave him a courtesy nod of acknowledgement before walking away. I didn't scurry, I didn't hurry and no that wasn't me sauntering with an extra sway of hips. Nope. Not me.

Andrew glared at me as if I had done something wrong. I just rolled my eyes at him and looked to the sales girl for some gossip. I asked her in a low voice, "Who are the Malfoys?"

She looked up at me with wide eyes. I could read the fear and awe in her eyes when she spoke in hushed tones, "The Malfoys are one of the richest families in wizarding London. They're politically influential, Lord Malfoy is friends with the Minister of Magic." She chanced a glance over her shoulder in Mom's direction since he was still talking to her before turning her attention back to Andrew's robe. Her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper, "Lady Malfoy is just as influential. She can make or break anyone in the social circles."

Mental note: don't mess with the Malfoys.

* * *

"Have you lost all sense of propriety?"

I was standing at parade rest - feet shoulder width apart (my knees were slightly bent to keep them from locking. There was no telling how long I'd have to stand there and fainting was utterly out of the question), shoulders back, hands folded at my lower back and eyes front staring at a point directly ahead - as the Major continued his tirade. I had tuned him out a number of times because he started to repeat himself after the first fifteen minutes. I'd heard it all before: boys are to be ignored, studies before socializing, I will graduate from a respectable university before I'm allowed to date, blah, blah, blah.

I still can't believe Mom told Dad that I was flirting with Mr. Lord Luscious Lucius Malfoy. As if.

"Answer me, Andrea!"

"No, Sir."

"Then explain yourself."

"I was browsing the racks while awaiting Drew's fitting to be completed. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking when I found myself face to face with one Lucius Malfoy. I didn't speak with the man. Mom was there before he spoke to me. Mom sent me away and I went."

"And that's all?"

"Yes, Sir." I continued to stare at an indistinct point in front of me. I could see Dad in my peripheral vision. He didn't look pleased standing there with his arms crossed, but he no longer looked pissed off. Thank God.

"You're to go upstairs and finish packing," Dad said, but I waited. I knew that trick. I fell for it enough times when I was younger. I wasn't allowed to move until he said, "Dismissed."

That's when I moved out. I double timed it up the stairs two at a time to my room. I didn't slam the door, but I was sorely tempted to.

What really steamed me was that through all that moving business I was on Mom's side. Just like Andrew, I didn't want to go to Ish-land. I wanted to stay at Salem and graduate. But I went against my own feelings to see her point of view. That was until she told the Major about Sir Malfoy. Well, did the Major know how much she talked with Mr. Luscious? I bet he didn't. Not that I would tell, but still.

Dad still thought I needed to pack. I plopped on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Thankfully the Major was a No-Maj and kept forgetting I could pack magically. Everything I needed was already in my trunk ready for transport tomorrow at 0900 hrs.

There was soft rhythmic knocks on my door: two - one - two. Andrew.

I closed my eyes and said, "Come in."

I heard the door open and close. I then felt the bed dip as he sat down. He then pushed me to make room for him and sprawled out next to me. He was quiet for a long time. I thought he had fallen asleep until he finally said, "You lied."

"Did not."

"Omission is a form of lie."

"Semantics."

"He's married and-"

"Gah!" I cut him off because I did NOT want to have that talk with my twin. "I know all that, Drew. I wasn't flirting with old man Malfoy."

"You were shaking your ass for the man."

I wanted to deny that, but all that came out was a giggle. I did do that. I knew he watched. I could feel his eyes on me. I couldn't help it. I was a natural flirt. Or so I was told. I thought I was just being friendly and polite, but there it was.

"Andi…"

"Whatever, Drew. I have no interest in pursuing a married man. Especially one old enough to be my dad. That is so ew." I sighed, "He is handsome and has a dreamy voice and smelled real good, but still… old… creepy… ew…"

Andrew turned his head and looked at me. I hadn't turned to look at him. I just knew he looked my way because he poked me when I didn't meet his gaze. "What?" I huffed.

"Malfoy is a creep."

"Yeah?" Like I hadn't figured that out.

"They have a son."

"Yeah?" I heard the lady talk about him. She had said she needed a coat for her son. "So?"

"He's probably at that school."

"Get to the point, Drew. I'd like to get some sleep at some point tonight."

"Stay away from Malfoy Jr."

I groaned and closed my eyes again. "Whatever."

"I'm being serious, Andi," Andrew poked my side again and I squirmed. His hand dropped to the bed and he grew quiet. I knew he had more to say. I could just feel it, so I kept quiet until he was ready to speak. "We should have stayed in America to finish our MEWEs."

MEWEs in the US was the Mind-numbingly Exhausting Wizarding Exam or as the Ish called them Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test aka NEWTs. I bit back another groan. As much as I agreed, I was just tired of rehashing the same thing again and again. "Stop beating that dead horse. What did he ever do to you?"

"Shut up," Andrew huffed and pushed me. He shoved me so hard I went off the other side of my bed and landed on my ass on the carpet with an oof.

Oh it was so on. There was no way he was getting away with treating me like that and in my room! Lucky for me, I landed on the correct side of my bed. I immediately grabbed my wand from my nightstand and threw a sticking charm on him. He had just enough time to cry out, "Hey!" before I hexed him.

I knew retaliation was only seconds away and I wasn't about to stick around to find out what he was going to do. I apparated away. I didn't go far. I rarely do. I could hear him in my bedroom two rooms away. I was in Andrew's room and only had a few moments before he'd be free to come after me so I shrunk his bed, but only by a foot. Just enough to make it too short for him, not enough to be visibly noticeable.

I heard the pop from my room and immediately popped into our bathroom, or to be more specific, into the shower. I heard a distant pop and apparated again, back into my room and looked around to see if he had done anything to my stuff, but I didn't have much time.

There was another pop and I panicked. I popped into the laundry room and Mom whipped around brandishing her wand. "Nice reflexes, Mom."

"Andi…"

There was a warning growl in her tone and I gave her a grin, "Can't talk. Must move. Love!" I wriggled my fingers in a wave and dashed into the kitchen where I caught Dad with his head in the refrigerator. He turned to me with a questioning look and I beamed my most innocent smile at him. "Hi, Daddy."

His eyebrow rose. I must have laid it on a bit too thick. The Major didn't comment, but did ask, "Are you done packing already?"

"Yes, sir!" I said, only I hadn't stopped moving. "Sorry, gotta dash."

There was a sudden pop behind me and the Major cursed. "Dammit, Drew. I told you no popping around in the house."

I let out a girly squeak of surprise and closed the door behind me. I didn't stick around to hear his excuse to Dad. I popped back to my room. All that apparating was making me a bit dizzy so I ducked into my closet and leaned against the wall.

Apparently Andrew didn't take Dad's reprimand to heart. I knew that because I could hear a few more pops and a crack. Oh that was sloppy and would get him yelled at for sure. Part of the reason we got so good at apprating was because the Major hated the cracking noise and would lecture us on being more considerate to the non-magical folks that weren't used to hearing such nerve wracking noises. Quiet apparating only took a bit more concentration and magic. It took Andrew four months to get the hang of it. I got it in three.

He popped again only it was closer that time. I heard him growl. Andrew was in my room. My heart leaped and I considered just giving in to his retribution, but that wasn't my style. I weighed my options and gripped my wand. I had a plan… or at least the beginning of a plan.

I popped back into his room, pointed my wand at the carpet and whispered, "Glacius!" I knocked over a book from his nightstand loud enough to be heard from my room. Then I popped quietly out and back into the bathroom.

Andrew had apparently gone back to his room because a second later there was a loud thud. "Fuck!"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing and popped back into my room. I didn't have a lot of time, but I threw a privacy ward up and locked my door then I popped back down to the laundry room. Mom was still in there and she gave me a stern look. I smiled innocently yet again which neither of my parents ever fell for, but I kept trying!

"I wager the loud thumps was courtesy of your brother?"

I held my wand against my leg out of sight. "I guess. It wasn't me." Which was partly true. I didn't fall, it was a book and Andrew… even though I caused both of them to hit the floor.

"Andi!"

We both turned towards the door when we heard Andrew yell. I grinned at Mom and said, "Gotta go!"

I popped back into Andrew's room, only that time I landed on his bed in order to avoid the floor. Just because my brother was no longer in his room, it didn't mean he canceled my spell. I noted my breath was normal meaning the glacius was canceled. Andrew wasn't going to be happy with me. I hopped off his bed and quickly turned around. I grinned. Good luck sleeping in that bed, "Duro."

No sooner had I casted the spell, the door to Andrew's room opened. I blinked in surprise and hid my wand behind my back. "Hi, Daddy."

"Andi, what are you doing in your brother's room?"

"This isn't his…" I looked around as if confused. "Oh…" I blinked as if I just realized where I was. Dad crossed his arms and gave me a stern look. I looked up at him as innocently as I could manage. He just raised an eyebrow at me. Uhoh. Time for damage control.

I discreetly twisted my wrist putting my wand into my back pocket and moved to Dad. I really wished I had thought to put my wand holster on, but the pocket would have to do for now. I furrowed my brow and said as sweet as pie, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm just so worried about tomorrow."

That wasn't entirely a lie. I was worried. Mom had finally told us everything she knew about 'You-Know-Who' and the war. She had thought it was all over years ago, but if the look of Diagon Alley, the sign in that shop window and the new headmaster were any indication, the war was far from over.

The Major's look softened. I should have been an actress! He opened his arms for me and I didn't hesitate to fall into them. The Major held me tight and I proclaimed, "I must have popped into the wrong room!"

He chuckled then. It shook my body along with his. "You should have quit while you were ahead."

I sighed softly. He was right. I over did it. Ah well. I got a hug anyway. I burrowed into my father. He was strict and could be a real downer, but he was my Daddy and I always felt safe in his arms.

* * *

 **AN:** Britney Spear's song  Baby One More Time came out in 1998, I just decided it was in January instead of October (according to the wiki page I read) so I could make that reference about the school uniform.

I realize that Glacius is only used in the video games (according to the wiki page), but I needed it so I used it. It was either that or create a spell and why do that when they've given me one? Right? Exactly.

For those who don't know, 'double time' is a military thing. If you look it up it says: a regulation running pace. Really, it's just jogging.

ASAP: As Soon As Possible. I'm pretty sure you all knew that, but I tend to use acronyms that others hadn't heard of before … it surprises me until I realize they're mostly used in the military. Case in point: We were moving filing cabinets. I was asked to label each box with the corresponding sticker on the file cabinet so when they put the files back it would be simple… that is until the admin came across one cabinet with a sticker saying 'MT' … she hunted me down to find out that that specific drawer had been empty. What? It made perfect sense to me!

That going on an adventure thing is all me. I really say that to my kids and we really did end up at an amusement park instead of going to a museum. That was over 20 years ago and we were living in Germany at the time. I'm sorry, but their signs don't say north, south, etc. They expect me to know what direction certain cities were. I'm obviously directionally challenged. Ah well, it was fun, the kids had a blast!

That said… this story came to mind back in Oct 2012. I wanted to do a story about an American going to Hogwarts. Only I really didn't want to go through all seven years. Honestly, you can only do seven years of Hogwarts so many times before you want to hurt someone… or maybe that's just me…

I started out numerous times with Andrew and kept hitting brick walls until Andi (with an i) poked me and said that I had forgotten her. Next thing I know the spitfire took over and off we went!

It's also important to note that this is late in the school year… as in this shopping trip takes place after the Xmas hols. Reason? If the twins went home for the holidays and told their parents what was happening at that school, they would have been pulled out of there so fast it would make your head spin and abruptly end the story prematurely before I was ready for it to end.

I used events that Neville touched on in the book to fill some chapters (I make it more obvious what I'm talking about at the end of the story) and other events that happened as well… in other words it follows the book without following Harry. If that makes any sense.

Since this is AU (obviously) I found a random, not often seen name I liked and abused, erm… used it… even though neither of my Chambers kids have anything to do the actual canon Chambers character.

According to the HP Wiki: Chambers was a Ravenclaw Chaser during the 1995–1996 school year. In the Quidditch final that year Ron deflected a goal attempt by this player.

Hope you have fun reading the story half as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Ajellah


	2. Tolerantia

**Tolerantia**

"I have something for you," Mom pulled a pair of small devices from her pocket and held it out for us.

Andrew's eyes widened and a dimpled grin overtook him, "Really? He's giving us back our cell phones?"

I hate to admit it, but I let out a girly squeal. "This is totally awesome!"

Mom smiled at the pair of us while handing us our solar phone chargers, "I told your father that you can text your friends to keep in touch since calling them would be much too costly."

"And he bought that?" Andrew hugged Mom briefly and dropped his phone and charger into his coat pocket. I instantly bounced over to her and hugged her tightly which she returned with a kiss to my cheek.

"Of course not," Mom smirked at my brother, "I told him I wanted you to be able to text me."

"Thanks, Mom." We chorused.

"Just pay attention to your monthly text limits. Don't make me regret giving them back."

"We won't," I immediately agreed. The train whistle blew and I shuddered. It was time. I looked at the train that sat so innocently and hated it. It was an inanimate object, but I loathed the thing all the same.

Mom straightened her son's collar, "Do you have everything?"

"Yes, ma'am." Andrew patted his coat pocket.

"Andi?" She cupped my cheek and I nodded. I couldn't speak. My heart was in my throat. I really didn't want to go. "Good."

I hugged her again before I began backing away, "Love you, Mom."

"I love you, too." She shooed us onto the train, "Now, go. Make friends. Make good grades. Make me proud."

Andrew could only grin crookedly at Mom's antics, "Yes, ma'am."

Before he could step on the train, she called out to him, "Andrew."

He stopped and turned back to Mom, "Yeah?"

"I love you."

My heart clenched. It sounded so final. I turned and watched the exchange. I wanted to put her face to memory. What were we getting ourselves into? Why hadn't they just sent us back home to Salem?

Andrew heard the undertones in her voice too. The unspoken plea for him to understand and be understanding; her need for him to not walk away still annoyed with her and he nodded, letting Mom know he got the message. "I love you, too."

I swallowed back the tears and walked to find a compartment to sit in. We were told that the train ran year round twice daily for those who wanted to go to Hogsmeade from London. I thought that meant the train would be busier, but many of the compartments were empty.

We exchanged looks and Andrew just shrugged, opening the next empty compartment for us to use. I sat down and looked out the window. Mom stood on the platform waiting for us to go. Andrew lowered the window in order for us to wave. I felt as if I was eleven again, going off for my first day of school and my insides were tied up in knots.

"She's trying not to cry."

"I know."

"She sounded so sad."

"I know."

"We shouldn't be going to Hogwarts."

"I know."

The train began moving and I sat as Andrew closed the window. I looked up at my brother who was older by six minutes and sighed, "I hate this."

He gave me a dimpled grin when he repeated. "I know."

* * *

We were met at the station by a huge man who told us his name. He was difficult to understand, but I _think_ he said it was Agrid. Odd name, but he's an Ish, so I've come to expect oddities from them. At least he seemed friendly enough during our five minute encounter.

Agrid had a carriage waiting for us. It was pulled by two thestrals. Fascinating creatures, but I couldn't see them. We learned about them a few years back, so I knew the only way to be able to see a thestral was to witness death. So, as much as I'd love to see one, I hoped that that wouldn't happen too soon.

The ride to the castle was breathtaking and I couldn't wait to see it all in the daylight. I was so enthralled with the twinkling lights that I forgot to be afraid. That lasted until we arrived at the front door.

The man standing there was rail thin, pimply faced and snarling at us exposing his yellowed teeth. Ew. Why were most Ishes so utterly ew? Pimple man just made things worse when he spoke in his squirrely, heavily accented voice, "You them new students?"

The man butchered the English language, both Americans and Ishes would shudder when they heard it. It was on the tip of my tongue to snark at him, but I bit it back and choked on it. Andrew spoke on our behalf, "Yes, sir."

The Ish-man stood straighter when Andrew addressed him as 'sir', but he continued to snarl at us as if we were beneath him. He escorted us into the castle. We were in some sort of foyer, very castley with stone walls, floors and high ceilings. What I found odd were the four large hour glasses against one wall. Each one was filled with different colored stones. The bottom of the red one was empty, the yellow had a few, the blue was better off than the first three, but the green was brilliantly filled with nearly half of the allotted stones. The large doors before us were wide open and I could see 4 long tables with some students sitting around them and a head table which currently sat empty. The tables were set up for a meal and I could feel my stomach gurgle in protest that I wasn't in there with the other students. The rail man didn't take us in there, he stopped at the foot of a grand marble staircase before he spoke again, "I'm Professor Carrow."

I blinked at that statement and nearly asked him to repeat what he said. I mean seriously… _Professor_ Carrow? The Pimple was a professor? We were doomed. How could such an uneducated man believe _he_ could teach us anything?

Movement caught my attention and I watched the staircases move. Students would either wait for the stairs to come back or go a different route when that happened. It was interesting to watch the reactions from the various people.

Unfortunately he wasn't done talking, "Yer ta go up ta the headmaster's office before tha feast." Pimple pointed up the marble staircase, "Third floor, left hall to the stone gargoyle. Password is tolrentia."

"Tolerantia," Andrew automatically corrected. I bit my lip and kept quiet. The squirrelly man not only butchered the English language, he apparently did it with Latin as well.

"Tha's what I said," Carrow's gaze narrowed at my brother. It wasn't what he said. I knew it, Andrew knew it, but either way it didn't matter. Getting away from that man and up to the headmaster's office was what was important at the time.

I touched Andrew's arm to keep him quiet. "Yes, sir." I said and moved away to the stairs. I had had enough of that man and hoped like hell I didn't have a class with him.

The students making their way to the feast either ignored us, didn't notice us or stared at us. I was busy looking around at everything, taking it all in. The castle was enormous and grand. Not beautiful, per se, but enchanting and had a charm of its own. I ran my hand up the banister as I went up the steps and felt a small jolt in my palm. I paused and frowned, but Andrew didn't and fell through a missing step.

I bit my lip to keep from giggling, but the moment Andrew began cursing I lost hold of my control. He glared at me while standing calf deep where a step should have been. "Not funny, Andi."

"Sure it is."

There were more giggles and Andrew's head whipped around. His glare eased instantly as he took in the sight of a busty blonde whispering to her cute brunette friend with large brown eyes and thick lashes that batted as her eyes flirtatiously met his. The pair wore the same uniform as I did with two exceptions. They both had on red striped ties and some sort of lion emblem on the front of their school robes. The hormonal teen that was my brother suddenly grinned with full dimples causing the girls to swoon. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Come on, Drew." I offered him a hand and he huffed, but he accepted the aide all the same.

The busty blonde stepped forward asking, "Are you new here?"

Andrew's grin was back and I stepped over the missing step. "What gave it away?"

The brunette chimed in, "Because you fell into the step. It's been there for ages. So you were either distracted or you're new. Seeing how we've never seen you before, we think you're new here."

"Astute observations. We need to see the headmaster." I started up the stairs again. "Drew!"

"Ladies," my idiot hormonal brother was still flirting with the Ish-hussies, but I refused to wait anymore.

"There's another missing step between the fifth and sixth floors." The blonde called after us.

While I appreciated the warning, we only needed to get to the third floor before dinner. And considering how many students were now on their way down the stairs, I'd say that was soon. I stayed to the right of the staircase as per normal and couldn't understand why I kept running into so much traffic.

I had lost count of the floors we passed and soon stopped when I found myself face to face with a boy. Deja vu only that was no man before me and definitely not a looker like Lord Luscious. He was short for a male, meaning he was as tall as I was and standing on a step making him shorter than me had we been standing on common ground. He grinned hugely at me and I nearly flinched. He had brown scruffy hair that curled messily with blue eyes and freckles, but that wasn't what had me recoiling. The guy had a nasty shiner and it looked as if it hurt even if he didn't act as if it did. He was still grinning when he said, "Now ain't you a sight?"

That was English, right? I stared at him for a moment. "What?"

I suddenly felt Andrew behind me and he growled. He. Growled. I tore my eyes from the injured boy - who was also sporting a red striped tie and a lion emblem - and looked over my shoulder at my brother. Why did Andrew growl? Only the next person to speak was the Ish, not Andrew. "Is tha' yer beau then?"

"What?" I hadn't a clue what he said! His accent was SO thick.

Andrew smirked at the boy before he ignored him. He gripped my upper arm and said, "Come on, we have to hurry."

"Oh now you want to hurry?" I let him guide me away and over to the left side of the stairwell. The left? Oh right… we're in Ish-land. They were so damned backwards!

"Oi! Wha's yer name?"

I didn't stop to ask what he said again, because he didn't clarify the last two things he had said. Besides there was a slim chance he wasn't speaking to me as there were hundreds of students in that school. He couldn't possibly know them all.

Andrew walked with purpose up the marble staircase. He got that stride from Dad. The Major believed if you held your head high with confidence, walked like you knew what you were doing and where you were going; folks would leave you be and believe you belonged there. It seemed to be working for him. Those that were walking towards us moved out of his way.

When he turned towards the left hallway, Andrew paused and glanced behind him and passed me. I wasn't sure what he was looking at so I looked behind me as well. I was confused and asked him, "What?"

"We're on the third floor, but I don't see a gargoyle."

Ah, I understood, so I explained, "They do things different here. The first floor is the ground or house floor, meaning the second is the first, so now that we've gone up three flights we would normally be on the third floor, but we're only on the second." He huffed at me and I rolled my eyes. "I didn't make up that rule."

We were running late so I double timed it up the last flight of stairs. Andrew was right behind me muttering, "Moving staircases, missing steps… it's as if the castle is taunting me."

I rounded the stairs and headed towards the stone gargoyle, "Right, the stairs were immobile until today. The castle simply knew you were coming so it decided today was a good day to change after a thousand years."

"And that's another thing…" Andrew started as if he had been speaking the entire time. "Why's the headmaster's office guarded? Why not have a secretary and an open door policy? What's the man hiding? Why's he hiding? How can anyone be expected to trust a headmaster so secretive?"

Andrew was on a roll and I had to stop him. I put a hand on his chest and said, "Breathe."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I could see the calm washing over him as he compartmentalized his feelings.

"I know you're unhappy, but we're about to face the headmaster. You remember what Mom said." Andrew nodded and I continued, "So we do the best we can, lay low and noses clean for the next five months and we're home free."

"Right," Andrew stood before the stone guard and took another calming breath before muttering, "tolerantia."

The statue slid back with a grating sound and a spiral staircase began to move upwards much like an escalator. Andrew stepped aside to let me go first and he stepped on behind me until it came to a stop at the top. We stood at the door and I gave him an encouraging nod. Like everything else in our lives; we were in it together.

Andrew rapped sharply twice on the wooden door. The entrance opened soundlessly and we waited to be summoned. Just like you didn't walk away from the Major without being dismissed, an open door was never to be taken as an implied welcome. The headmaster's voice was a deep baritone, smooth and assured with a distinct Ish drawl that could be heard even with one spoken word, "Enter."

I shivered at the sound of it and Andrew looked at me sharply. Damn. He saw me. The headmaster's voice was better than Luscious, but from what Mom told us about him (gangly, long black greasy hair, crooked yellow teeth and a large hooked nose), his voice was the only cute thing about the man. With the mental picture she painted of him; he wasn't going to be pretty like Malfoy.

Andrew pushed the door open, allowed me to enter first and closed the door behind him. I kept in step with my brother's long strides and we approached the desk together. That was when I got a good look at the man behind the desk. Or as good as one could when the man was busy reading a parchment.

I knew Headmaster Severus Snape was the same age as our parents. Unlike the Major, he didn't have a single gray hair in his long black locks which was neatly pulled back at the nape of his neck. The prominent hooked nose separated a pair of piercing onyx eyes that pinned me to the spot when he raised his head from the pages he had been reading.

I wasn't sure if I was pleased, relieved or disappointed to find he wasn't as hideous as Mom painted him to be. He wasn't handsome, but he wasn't ugly… he just… was.

Andrew's hand flexed into a fist so I assumed the position of parade rest the moment I stood before the desk. Andrew followed suit and spoke clearly to announce our arrival, "Andrew and Andrea Chambers, Salem Academy transfer students, sir."

"The Americans," Snape commented. As it wasn't a question we kept silent. I found a crack in one of the stones in the wall over the man's head and focused on it. The headmaster laid the parchment down on his desk and looked us over with a contemplative regard. "You have come to Hogwarts during dark and troubling times."

Still no question was asked, but I just knew Andrew wanted to say something to that. I slid my eyes to him and saw the muscle in Andrew's jaw flex. I wondered if Snape had seen it and brought my gaze to him. Snape looked amused. I saw it glimmer briefly in his eyes before he brought his gaze to me.

I didn't flinch from his gaze. I met it calmly. There was a small twitch of his lips as if he were holding back a smile, but then Snape broke the silence in the room when he demanded, "Your transcripts and transfer papers."

Andrew pulled a manila folder from the inside pocket of his cloak and handed it over to the headmaster. I did the same. Snape accepted the folders and opened them to glance at the pages. He compared both transcripts and read Andrew's course aloud, "All of your classes are MEWE level: Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and…" Snape looked up at Andrew when he read off the last class, "Healing?"

Snape read the last subject as a question. Questions required a response. My eyes snapped to my brother. Andrew dropped his gaze to meet the headmaster's, "Yes, sir."

When he addressed me next I brought my gaze back to him, "As for you Miss Chamber, you are also taking MEWE level courses with the exception of Potions." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "You were taking a pre-Apprenticeship level class with your Potions Professor?"

There was a level of surprise in his voice. Not condemnation like some had in my past. I heard it all before: 'But you're pretty. Why would you want to study so much?', 'You're so popular. Why don't you just socialize?', and the worse one yet, 'You're a girl, you don't have to have a job. You just need to find a good husband to take care of you.' Only Snape wouldn't think that. He was good at Potions. Mom had said so. He'd understand. Therefore I didn't hide the pride when I said, "Yes, sir."

Snape set the page down on his desk and contemplated for a bit. He then noted, "I see you do not have Muggle Studies."

"Muggle… Studies?" Andrew blinked, bemused. I had to admit I wasn't sure what he was talking about either. Don't get me wrong. Snape spoke in a slow drawl and enunciated clearly so I understood the words, I just hadn't a clue what a Muggle was.

"Muggles," Snape clarified, "non-magical humans."

Oh. No-Majs… apparently the Ish had a different word for them. Figured. Just one more thing to confuse me. I responded, "No, sir."

Andrew elaborated, "There was no benefit in taking a class to learn about non-magicals seeing how our father is a No-Maj."

"Muggle Studies is compulsory."

"Sir?"

"You do know what compulsory means?" Snape quirked an eyebrow when Andrew stiffened. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at my brother's expense. Snape gave a small nod. "It will be added to your class schedules.

"Hogwarts does not offer a course in Healing nor such an advanced Potions class." Snape cupped his chin in his long fingers of his right hand as Andrew's brow furrowed in disappointment and my stomach dropped. Damn. Damn. Double damn. The headmaster's hands dropped to his desk as he came to a conclusion. The look on the man's face was calculating, "I will speak with our Matron and see about working some training into her schedule."

Snape's gaze swept to me and he totally made the rest of my year brighter, "As I am a Potions Master, I can tutor you in more advanced potions than those taught by Professor Slughorn. We will work out a compatible schedule next week. Due to the nature of the classes and the fact that it will not be offered to others, you will not tell anyone of our arrangement."

"Yes, sir."

The headmaster pushed his chair back and stood. His features were all business when he continued, "While you are at Hogwarts you will be expected to carry yourself with proper decorum at all times. There is no using magic in the halls, breakfast is at 0730, first class begins promptly at 0900, lunch at 1230 and dinner is at 1700.

"There are four 'Houses' within Hogwarts. Each represents one of the four founders: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor," Snape bit off the last name with disgust. I knew that was because he was a Slytherin in his days at school. Mom was a Ravenclaw. "Each House has a Head of House and six prefects: a boy and girl for each year starting from 5th to 7th. If you have trouble, handle it. If you cannot handle it yourself, you are to seek out a prefect prior to the Head of House and if you still require assistance then - and only then - you will come to me.

"You will be sorted prior to joining a House. We use the Sorting Hat which was enchanted by the Founders." Snape made his way around his desk and over to a bookshelf that lined the wall. Once at the bookshelf he wanted, he grabbed a worn leather pointed hat and motioned for me to take a seat. "Sit."

I bit my lip and nodded. Mom warned us about the hat. She said it was traditionally kept a secret, but since we were taught occlumency at a young age because of our Dad's position in the military, we needed to be forewarned about the need to drop our shields for the hat. I moved to the chair and sat down. I folded my hands in my lap and looked up at the headmaster. Snape watched quietly before slipping the hat on my head.

'Interesting,' the haggard croaky voice spoke in my mind. 'It isn't often a student requires sorting mid-term. Nor have I had to sort a student as old as you are and, goodness, relax your shields or we'll be here all night.'

I crossed my ankles, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. With each second I felt my shields lower. It was an odd feeling to have the hat rifling through my thoughts. I wondered how the others felt about it or if they even noticed.

'Under normal circumstances you would be rather fitting in Slytherin, but these are dark times… dark times indeed. No…' the memories flooded my senses and I bit back a whimper as the Sorting Hat continued. 'You have brave tendencies yet you are not rash, you're contemplative, hardworking, loyal, but not towards many and your thirst for knowledge is only surpassed by your ambition and drive… yes, yes… I see it all here… you are the quintessential Slytherin, but given the current turmoil within the school's walls, you'll thrive so much more in,' The Sorting Hat confirmed his findings aloud, "Ravenclaw!"

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Snape took the hat from my head and Andrew held his hand out for me to take. I gave him a weak smile and accepted it. He must have figured it was hard since he too knew about having to drop the occlumency shields.

Andrew didn't release my hand. Instead he quietly asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I gave a small nod. "I just need a minute."

Snape watched our exchange, but didn't comment. I stepped out of the way as Andrew took his turn under the hat. I took that opportunity to look around the room. There were so many portraits around the office. Each one was a sleeping witch or wizard: some slouched in chairs, some snoring softly and one that grinned down at me with twinkling blue eyes.

I smiled back at him when he waved. The hat called out, "Ravenclaw!"

Andrew was quick to remove the worn leather hat from his head and closed his eyes. I watched as he brought his shields back up into place. It was fascinating to watch the emotions drain from him. Snape took the hat from his grip and Andrew's eyes snapped open.

I went to my brother immediately and crouched beside him. "Drew?"

"I'm good." He took a calming breath and I stood to get out of his way. That was when I noticed his tie had changed. It was plain black when he put it on. Now it was stripped with blue and his robe had an eagle emblem. I looked at my own uniform and noted mine had changed similarly. I looked closer at the emblem and read Ravenclaw. That was so cool.

Andrew stood up and we watched as Snape made his way back to his chair. He paused to glance up at a portrait - the only one near his desk. It was the same one that grinned at me moments ago.

The old man in the painting wore a rather bright blue robe with moons and stars with a matching pointed hat. He had long white hair and a longer white beard with half-moon glasses perched on his long slender nose. He appeared to be sleeping… until the elderly man in the portrait winked at Andrew.

Snape cleared his throat to gain our attention. "Just as we do not offer healing classes, we…" Snape paused only a hair of a moment, but it was long enough to catch our attention, "no longer offer Defense Against the Dark Arts." The headmaster sat behind his desk and leveled his gaze at us, "Dark Arts are taught in its stead. You both have enough classes on your schedule that you can opt out of that class if you wish."

For the first time since arriving, Andrew sighed heavily and dropped his guard. That reaction surprised me. Andrew wasn't the dramatic one, that was all me. "DADA is not necessary for my chosen profession of healing, although it could be handy to learn the counter curses in order to save lives. Not to mention that I have learned a semester of Dark Arts…" Andrew must have realized he was rambling. He looked at the headmaster as his mask of indifference fell back into place, "Sir, taking Dark Arts during my MEWE, excuse me, NEWT year makes no logical sense since I hadn't taken the course at any other time and having extra study time could be much more beneficial."

"Interesting logic." Snape turned his gaze to me, "And you, Miss Chambers?"

"I will be a Potions Mistress." I stated, because I was. It was my all time favorite thing in the world… besides shopping and I may have been great at buying things, I didn't think I wanted to do that for the rest of my life as a profession. "For the same reasons stated by my brother, I respectfully decline taking Dark Arts at this time."

I seem to be amusing Snape again because his lip twitched… again. Then he asked, "The idea of Dark Arts does not bother you then?"

Snape watched us as if he were gauging our reactions. I spoke first, "Magic is magic, sir."

"Not everyone shares that opinion." He wasn't wrong. Mom was one of them.

"That may be so, but it is what we were taught in Magical Theory at Salem." Andrew chose to elaborate when he saw Snape's eyebrow rise, "Magic dubbed Dark or Light is simply magic. Both can be beneficial or detrimental, as it is the intent of the caster that makes a _person_ dark or light."

The headmaster contemplated for a moment more. He seemed to do that a lot. I wondered what went through his mind. Snape pulled his wand and suddenly a silver doe burst forth before circling back to its creator. Holly Hannah, a fully corporeal patronus and silently cast! The man was powerful. I was duly impressed. The wizard spoke softly and the patronus ran through the door to its intended target. "Your Head of House will be along shortly to escort you down to dinner. Welcome to Hogwarts."

* * *

My alarm went off and I sighed heavily. I turned it off so I didn't wake the other girls. I sat up slowly and got my bearings. I hated waking up in a strange new place only to fall out of bed or stumble across a room. I had three roommates - Lisa Turpin, Sue Li and Mandy Brocklehurst - and if any of those girls saw me being clumsy, it would be so embarrassing.

I slipped on my wand holder and ensured it was securely in place before I swung my legs out of bed. I stuffed my feet into my house slippers and waited for my eyes to adjust to the early morning light that was straining to break through the darkness of night. I grabbed my workout clothes and shuffled out to the bathroom. I won't go into details of what I did in there because that was totally private, but suffice it to say I was dressed and ready to work out in no time.

I double timed it down stairs and hit the common room at the same time as Andrew. "Morning," he mumbled. I just nodded and followed him out the door. Andrew was carrying his precious box of weights while I had my yoga mat, two towels and two bottles of water.

Last night Professor Flitwick - our Head of House, a short man who I would guess was part goblin or dwarf due to his size, but I favor goblin from his obvious intelligence - showed us an empty classroom we could use to exercise in. He said we weren't allowed to run outside before the sun was up, so I decided to run in the afternoons.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the room had been altered since the night before. Last night it was dusty and filled with unused desks and chairs. That morning it was clean, light filled the room when we entered and all the unneeded furniture was pushed to the sides of the room. Best of all, there was a thick cushioned mat on the floor.

"I love house elves." It was all I could think of saying. It was true. They were awesome.

"Yeah," Andrew agreed and moved to far side of the room. He set down his small box on a table and began setting up his exercise machines, enlarging them as he went.

I moved to the mat and began my yoga stretches. "Did you manage to find a signal anywhere?"

"Nope," He groused. "Don't know how we're going to get a text off to Mom."

"After we get our schedules, I'll send an owl. I'm sure the school has one we could borrow."

I was in my favorite asana when I heard the familiar metallic clank of the weights. Apparently Andrew got his equipment set up as he liked it and started his own workout. I moved seamlessly from one pose to the next and felt my body come alive. I loved yoga.

Balancing in the crow position - hands planted on the floor, my shins resting on my upper arms and my feet lifted up - I realized that while there were windows in the room, I couldn't tell what time it was by the sun. It was our first day at school and it just wouldn't do to be late.

I slowly transitioned into a lotus position and checked my watch. We had been in the room an hour already. I called out to Andrew in order to be heard over his exhales with each lift, "It's 0630. We have an hour before breakfast."

Andrew paused with the barbell suspended in the air to look my way, "Got it," and he set the weights back on the pegs.

"Ah, good morning," Flitwick squeaked from the doorway.

I smiled at the diminutive man and greeted him in return, "Good morning, sir."

"Mornin', Professor," Andrew chimed in. He grabbed one of the towels to wipe the sweat from his face. I tossed one of the bottles of water to him and he caught it handily.

"I see that you two have things well in hand here."

"Yes, sir." I said as I released my position in order to stand. "The room is perfect: not too hot, not too cold and the work the house elves put into preparing it for us is greatly appreciated."

"Good, good." He said and smiled at us. He then pulled his wand and began muttering under his breath. I watched in fascination as he did some very complex charm work on a desktop. It soon became a clock face. Flitwick then removed it from the desk, raised it into the air and had it stuck to the wall. "There."

"That was awesome." I said appreciatively.

The man blushed and waved a hand dismissively, "Just a bit of charm work."

"You're being modest," Andrew said as he stepped closer to the new clock. "And it's perfect: easy to read from anywhere in the room. If Andi hadn't spoken up when she did, I'd probably be late to breakfast."

"Yes, working out has a way of making time pass quickly." Flitwick agreed. "I have my own style of exercise." He lowered his voice conspiratorially, "I was once a dueling champion in my youth."

"How exciting, do you teach dueling?" Andrew asked as we followed him out of the room.

"No, no… although there was a short stint of a dueling club once about five years ago." Flitwick waved that explanation away and warded the door closed. "I need you both to tap your wand to the door, one at a time, please."

Andrew went first, tapping his wand on the door and watched as it flashed a shimmering blue. I followed and tapped my wand tip to the door and it flashed once again with a shimmering pale blue. Flitwick grinned up at us, "Excellent. Now the door is secured to allow only staff and the two of you to open the door. It will keep your belongings safe."

"Thank you!" I beamed a full dimpled smile at him and he smiled back. We had the coolest Head of House ever.

"I have your class schedules," He announced and handed us both a slip of paper.

I read mine and compared it with Andrew's and noted we had most of our classes together.

"We don't have a book for Muggle Studies since we didn't know we had to take the class." Andrew explained, "So we'll have to owl our mother to have her purchase any books we need."

The look on the professor's face changed from carefree and cheerful to full on rage. I blinked in surprise and was even more so when the look was gone just as quickly. "Yes, well, thankfully there are no required textbooks for that… class."

"I still would like to owl home to let Mom know that we're okay. Are there school owls we can borrow?" I asked cautiously.

Flitwick's mood changed again and he was smiling indulgently. Honestly I didn't know if I could keep up with the changes. "Of course. The owlery is located in the North Tower. I'm sure one of your dorm mates can show you. If not then one of the prefects will do so."

"Okay, thanks." I said. One of my dorm mates, Sue, also happened to be a prefect.

The little professor opened the common room door for us and said, "Run along, you don't want to be late for your first day."

* * *

I was surprised at breakfast to receive an owl. I didn't know anyone in Ish-land that wasn't family. I didn't think we had an owl, therefore how could Mom already send us something. I caught the note that was dropped in front of me and watched as the brown barn owl continued back out the window without prompting.

Lisa looked at me curiously, "Your first day and you already have mail. You're popular."

"Not here," I said with a shrug. "I did okay at my old school. Unless Drew ran them off. Still I doubt it's from any of my friends back home." I glanced at the small rolled parchment and continued, "Plus back home we didn't use parchment."

The conversation from the night before came back to me. The headmaster had mentioned he would contact me in order to set up a time for tutoring. I also remembered that the sessions were to be kept private, so I didn't open the scroll at the table with prying eyes nearby. I dropped it into my bag and went back to my breakfast.

"You're not going to open it?" Sue asked on my other side.

"Not now." I said noncommittally and ignored the frowns I received from my nosey roommates. "Doesn't anyone drink coffee?"

"We have tea," Mandy stated from across the table, "milk and juice."

I looked at the pitcher of 'juice' and wrinkled my nose. "What sort of juice is that?"

"Pumpkin juice," Sue asked, "You don't have that in the states?"

"No," I stated. "We have coffee, milk and orange juice for breakfast. Apple juice, fruit punch, milk or water for lunch and dinner."

"Here," Lisa handed me a pitcher that was further from me and I sighed with relief when I saw it was orange juice.

But still, "What I wouldn't give for a Starbucks!"

Mandy and Sue stared at me blankly. Lisa got it, she giggled. Let her giggle. I hated the weirdness that was all things Ish! Yes, that was an exaggeration, but how did one exist without coffee? Sue nudged me, "If there is coffee in this place, we'll have to try the kitchen. Come on."

Mandy sat up in surprise, "You're going to the kitchen?"

"Yes," Sue said as she dropped her napkin on her plate.

I was already standing and wanting to know what the heck they were waiting for, but Sue finally moved and I was right there with her.

We made our way to the Entrance Hall, then took a left to the hall to the basement. Then another left and then… a painting. A painting? I looked at Sue who reached out and tickled the pear. It giggled. I shit you not, the pear giggled! Then the pear became a doorknob. That was so ridiculously adorable. I couldn't help but grin.

"Clever." I admitted. Seriously, who would think to tickle a pear on a huge painting?

Sue smiled back and opened the door for me. "Welcome to the kitchen."

I stepped in and she closed the door behind us. The place was super busy with a hundred house elves. Well maybe not a hundred, but loads of them, about twenty at least bustling around: cleaning, prepping for lunch and others were putting away leftovers.

One elf was walking past and paused when we were noticed. He slowly turned to face us, his huge blue eyes blinked as if trying to decide if we were really standing there or not. Apparently he decided we were indeed real when I smiled at him. A huge smile broke across his face and he bowed gracefully. I curtsied in return and the elf's smile broadened, "How can I's help, Miss?"

"Do you have any coffee?" I asked.

The smile dropped immediately and the elf stepped closer. He stared up at me in fascination, "Yous not from here."

"Nope," I agreed. "American. I'm Andrea… or Andi to friends."

"I's Tuppy, Miss." Tuppy bowed again.

"If you get me some coffee, you can call me Andi."

The house elf shook his head, causing his ears to flap and he laughed merrily, "Tuppy will get Miss coffee, but not calling Miss that." Tuppy turned his attention to Sue, "Is other Miss wanting things?"

"No thanks, Tuppy." Sue answered, "I was just showing Andi where to go for her coffee."

Tuppy nodded quickly, ears flapping again and he bounced away to presumably get the coffee.

Other house elves had looked our way while we were talking to Tuppy. One of the females pointed at a seating area and shoo'd us out of the way. Sue and I took a seat and Tuppy was back in no time with a fresh cup of coffee, sugar and milk. I wanted to kiss the elf, but I refrained. I doctored my drink and took an eager sip. Caffeine heaven in a cup, "You're the best, Tuppy!"

He laughed again, "I's thinking Miss is just happy for coffee, but thanks Miss all the same."

Sue grabbed my watch and cursed, "Bugger, we have to go!"

I looked at the time and nearly choked on my coffee. We had Potions in ten minutes. "Thanks for the coffee, Tuppy. Can I come back tomorrow?"

"Yes, Miss. Or Tuppy can make sure Miss has it up in Great Room with early meal."

"You really are the best, Tuppy!" And I didn't resist that time. I kissed the top of his bald head and dashed out behind Sue.

We made it to the dungeon classroom just in time to get in the door before it closed. Slughorn looked at me in surprise and then motioned me to sit in an empty seat. "Ah the other Chambers sibling, welcome… welcome… have a seat in any empty chair."

"Yes, sir." I said and made my way to the only empty seat available.

Andrew was watching me with a raised eyebrow, but I ignored his questioning gaze. I'd answer for my near tardiness later. Right then I was in my favorite class and didn't want to deal with an overbearing brother.

The boy next to me was wearing a green striped tie. I learned earlier that meant he was a Slytherin, but what almost made me regret sitting there was who he was. He looked at me with his piercing gray eyes and I nearly fainted away. Malfoy Jr! Didn't that just figure?

* * *

 **AN:** Just for clarification, Andrea will not be hooking up with Snape for the same reasons she wasn't seriously flirting with Luscious: old… creepy… ew. Even if she doesn't consider Snape creepy that's just not gonna happen. She likes their voices and thinks Lucius is pretty, but creepy. Snape has a fabulous voice she could listen to all night and he's brilliant, but that's it. She does find someone later (if you noticed I already showed who she finds).

 **Tolerantia:** according to the Latin Dictionary: patience, fortitude, tolerance; ability to bear/endure pain/adversity. I found it rather fitting for Snape.


	3. Dream

**Dream Big**

"Enter," He called from within his lab.

I opened the door and did just that. I entered. Closing the door softly behind me, I looked around at the lab and felt giddy. I held my book bag closer to me so I could keep from bouncing in my excitement. Silly, maybe, but I did enjoy brewing. It made me wonder if there was anything I'd enjoy more…

Boys.

I hadn't had a boyfriend yet, but I'd bet that I'd enjoy having a boyfriend more than brewing. I let my bag slide quietly to the ground at my feet. Well there was a depressing thought. I needed to find a boy and kiss him. Then I'd know for certain which was better.

There were four workbenches, two were currently in use. Snape stood at one stirring counter clockwise while the other had a cauldron bubbling, an open book and ingredients. I waited until he looked up before I greeted the man. I didn't want to interrupt his count. Snape's eyes met mine and I said, "Evening, Sir."

The man began instructing me immediately and wasted no time with pleasantries. "I have started a potion that has been simmering for five minutes. Finish it."

I looked to the left at the bubbling cauldron. Snape didn't tell me what it was so I went to the table assessing the ingredients already lying there distinguishing between what had been used versus what was waiting to be used. I looked in the cauldron, noting color and consistency. I then closed my eyes and allowed my sense of smell to tell me what my eyes hadn't already clued in on, "calming draught."

"Yes," Snape agreed.

I didn't realize I had said it out loud, so when he responded it took me by surprise and my eyes snapped open. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks and lowered my gaze immediately so I could start working on the draught. It was only half done and nearing its second phase.

Grabbing my bag I searched for my tools and set the bag aside on an unused workbench. I quickly wiped my hands and equipment down before I got to work.

When I had finished with the final step, I looked up and noticed Snape watching me. There was a look in his eyes that I couldn't place. When I blinked, it was gone. He moved from his own work station to mine and looked at my potion as it cooled. "Good. Now bottle and label." He nodded to a shelf of empty vials. "They are to be delivered to Madam Pomfrey. Her stock is getting low."

"Yes, sir." I said and I moved out.

Snape made his way back to his cauldron and asked, "When did you know?"

I had to think about his question. When did I know? When did I know what? When did I know what the potion was? Obviously I knew before I began brewing. When did I know it was a double batch? Oh… "Halfway through preparing the asphodel during the second phase I noticed that the potion was doubled." Now I understood why he had done that.

"Explain." He demanded.

So I elaborated, "The ingredients on the surface of the workbench indicated a draught, the scent told me it was a calming draught. I knew it was brewing from its first phase due to the coloring and from the information you gave me." His eyebrow rose and I continued, "You said it was brewing for five minutes." I looked back at my work when I explained my reasoning. "By seven minutes it should be a soft red meaning it was ready for the asphodel, at seven it wasn't soft red therefore it had to be doubled pushing the brewing time by one minute. That was confirmed when it turned colors at eight minutes."

Snape didn't comment or correct me. I took that as a good sign and continued working. While calming draught had a good shelf life, it didn't keep well if it was exposed too long to the elements such as air or contaminants such as… well air that carried dust. Once the cauldron was emptied, each vial was topped and labeled with name and date. I then grabbed the cauldron to wash it out. That had to be done by hand so I set about to wash it.

I had been called a nut many times because I like scrubbing cauldrons. There was something soothing and therapeutic about the repetitive motion and the results are calming.

When I was done with the cauldron and turned it upside down to dry I made my way over to the other bench. I watched him work and was mesmerized by his movements. He was so skilled and it was fascinating. I bit my lip and he said, "Ask."

"Why are you crushing the sopophorous bean instead of cutting them?"

"As you can see, crushing them with the flat side of the dagger as opposed to cutting the bean," Snape showed me by cutting a bean, then crushing the next one, "it immediately exudes more juice."

"That's awesome." I noted and asked, "Was that a technique you discovered on your own or learned?"

"Discovered on my own my sixth year."

I had to grip the bench on that. He taught that to _himself_ and he was younger than I was when he did. "You're brilliant."

Snape smirked, "Some would disagree with your assessment."

I went back to the bench I had been working at in order to stop fawning over his brilliant mind and further embarrassing myself. I started putting away the unused salvageable ingredients, but didn't seem to stop my sarcasm as I retorted, "Well when it comes to potions, they'd be wrong."

"What do you hope to accomplish if you become a potions mistress?"

" _When_ I become a potions mistress," I stressed and seamlessly followed his lead question away from the last conversation, "I want to do research. I don't think I have the patience for teaching and as much as I enjoy brewing other people's work, I wouldn't mind discovering something for myself. Something simple to start," I joked, "Like curing lycanthropy or cancer."

"Lofty goals, Miss Chambers."

"My father always said: If you're going to dream. Dream big."

* * *

Along with the calming draught, I had made a double batch of healing potions before I was tasked to take them to the hospital to Madam Pomfrey. I was carrying the box of potions when I ran into a boy. I was going towards the stairs and he was coming from one of the adjoining halls. We literally ran into each other. He managed to grab hold of my arms which were around the box I was carrying before I dropped it.

"Careful there." He said with his lilting accented voice.

"Sorry," I managed.

He wasn't just a boy, he was… well he was tall, muscular, with dark sandy hair and hazel eyes. He had a confident air about him, but not the stuffy stuck up Malfoy kind, just a guy who knew his own strength which made him pretty hot even though he was a bit scruffy which only made him hotter. Only the bad part was, he was in pain. I could tell by looking into his eyes. He couldn't quite hide that from me.

I bit my lip and wondered just how rude it would be to ask him how hurt he was and if he needed medication, but the words came out before I could stop them as he went to skirt around me, "Are you okay?"

He stopped and looked at me with a bemused crooked grin that made my knees weak. Holy crap. Did I really think I hated it being in Ish-land? I might have been forced to change my mind if he kept grinning at me like that. He asked, "Where did you come from?"

"America," I said automatically. If I were in the US I'd say Texas as my default answer. It was easier than trying to explain the life of a military family. We weren't really from one place. We were from all sorts of places. The Major's home of record was Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Mom's parents still lived in Salem, Massachusetts or she could claim Ish-land if she was in the mood. Andrew and I were born in Fort Hood, Texas. Over the past seventeen years we've moved from Texas to Oklahoma to Massachusetts and even lived in South Korea for three years in between the first two moves.

"What's an American doing in Scotland?" He stepped closer to me and I swallowed hard.

"Going to school," I tilted my head to look up at him as he got even closer and I saw it. He had a dimple. Just the one and it was so… hot.

"Name's Neville," He said to me and… okay another weird name, but I could deal with that if he kept smiling at me, "Neville Longbottom."

Longbottom. Okay that was funny. I couldn't resist. I just smiled back, "Andrea Chambers, but you can call me Andi, with an i."

"Andi with an i?"

Neville kept that grin on his face and I nodded, "Yeah…"

"What do you have in the box?"

Box? I looked down at the box in my arms. Oh right. I forgot about that. I looked at him and instead of answering I told him, "I need to take it to the hospital ward. Madam Pomfrey is expecting it."

"Oh yeah?" Neville reached for the box, but I stepped back. He grinned again. I really liked that crooked grin of his. He told me, "It's hard for me to be a gentleman and carry your burden for you, if you don't let me have the box."

"Oh," I looked at the box again and shook my head. Snape wanted me to take it. I couldn't mess up on my first day. "I'd feel better if I carried it." That was at least the truth. I looked at him and bit my lip, "But you can walk with me… make sure I don't get lost."

Neville nodded, "I can do that." So he did. We walked to the hospital together. He escorted me like a chaperone: nearly a foot between us and he kept his hands behind his back as if he was afraid he'd bump into me if he didn't. We idly chit chatted about classes as we went along and when we got to the door, he held it open for me. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Andi."

"You too, Neville." I stopped and turned to him, "Oh!" Then I opened the box and pulled out a healing potion. "Thanks for the escort. I hope you feel better." He took the vial and looked at it. He then looked at me with a small frown. I winced, "Sorry. I thought you were hurt. The pink edge around your eyes. It's a sure sign of someone in pain. That's a healing potion. I made them…" And I shut up because I was rambling. At least he took the vial.

He grinned again, "Cheers."

And he was gone.

I walked into the hospital ward and leaned against the door. I think I just met my first boyfriend.

"Hey, Andi." Andrew called out.

Taking a deep breath I pushed away from the door. I couldn't let him know about Neville or he would try to scare him away like he did to every other guy I even remotely liked. "Hi, Drew. I have potions for Madam Pomfrey."

"Cool, set it here. I'll put them away."

Pomfrey came out of her office and smiled, "You must be Miss Chambers."

"Yes, ma'am." I said and returned her smile. Pomfrey looked every bit the school marm with her salt and pepper hair in a bun at the nape of her neck and a stern yet welcoming look on her face. I pointed out the obvious, "I brought healing potions and calming draught."

"Excellent," she pulled a random vial from the case and her eyebrow rose, "Severus didn't make these?"

"No, ma'am." I couldn't help, but smile. It made sense that she'd know his handwriting, "The Headmaster had me make them."

She looked at me a beat and nodded as if she approved, "I heard you were another potions prodigy." Wow, really? Okay that was so cool. "Well then, I thank you for your efforts." She handed the vial to Andrew, who in turn put it in the cabinet with the others. Andrew made sure to put the freshly made potions in the back behind the older ones turning the vials so the label faced outwards for ease of reading. "Once those are put away, you can leave for the evening, Mr. Chambers."

"Yes, ma'am." Andrew said and went back to work. Pomfrey went back into her office and my brother asked me, "How was your first class with the esteemed potions master?"

"Great," I stood at the table and emptied the box so he could put the vials away. "He tested me. Started a potion and had me finish it without telling me what it was." I grinned as I thought of my time with Snape in the lab, "He's brilliant. I learned a lot from him already. Like sopophorous beans are better crushed with the flat side of a silver dagger rather than cutting them."

"Really?"

"Mhmm," I nodded, "More juice that way."

Andrew put the last vial away, "I'll have to remember that."

That had me laughing, "No you won't."

* * *

We made it to the marble staircase on our way down to the Great Hall when I saw him again. I stood at the landing and watched him run, not double time, he _ran_ up the stairs towards us. When he got to our floor, he slipped an arm around my waist to use me as a pivot and winked at me as I twirled with him. I laughed as we spun and then watched him go. He called over the rail to me, "Careful. Trouble's coming!"

I lost sight of him after a couple flights up. That's when I heard the 'trouble coming', "Move! Move outa tha way."

Andrew pulled me back with him. The Carrows were hoofing it up the steps. Pimple and the Scarecrow were huffing as they double timed it. There was no way they would catch Neville, but they seemed determined to find him. Scarecrow stopped and gasped out, "Where'd he go."

"He?" I asked, giving her my best innocent look. They were obviously after Neville and I had to stall them so he could get away.

She didn't know me like my parents did and apparently fell for my look because she clarified, "The Longbottom boy."

"Longbottom..." I tilted my head as if I had to think about her question, "I've only been here a week... I'm not sure I've met-"

Pimple yelled, "That boy that just ran past!"

"Oh! Up the stairs. I lost sight of him by the time he hit the sixth floor." I didn't dare lie. I heard rumors about what happened to those that upset the Carrow twins (the cruciatus curse hurt something fierce from what I've heard) and I wanted none of that. I was willing to delay them as long as it didn't endanger Andrew and me.

They were off again and I looked up to where I had last seen Neville. I just hoped he was safe. Andrew growled, "Who was that?"

I sighed. I responded before he could start his tirade about my virtue and stay away from boys, "He's a nice guy."

"How do you know him? How can you know he's a nice guy if he's running from those two?"

"Stop it, Drew. You're not the Major. I don't answer to you." I walked away from him and moved down the stairs. He was such a hypocrite. I bet he already found time in a broom closet with at least one of those Gryffindor hussies we met our first night here. I remembered the missing step and made it to the Entrance Hall ignoring Andrew the entire way.

Before I could enter the Great Hall, Andrew grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me to the side, "Andi!"

"No," I pulled my arm from his grip and I took a calming breath. "He's a nice guy. I'm not going to run off and do something stupid. I just think he's sweet and he makes me smile. Can't you just let it go? Just once, can I have a friend that's male and not you?" Andrew frowned at me. I knew he was going to say no. I just knew it. So I saved him the trouble. I hissed at him, "Of course not. If you have your way, I'll be lucky to get my first kiss before I graduate and die a virgin!"

Okay maybe I was being a drama queen, but really… Would a kiss be so bad? I moved away from my brother and went into the Great Hall where I sat down to dinner with my roommates. Sue looked relieved to see me which confused me. Mandy shot me a grin which I returned as best I could. Lisa gave me a nudge and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "Just brother trouble."

I also made a decision. The next time I ran into Neville Longbottom I was going to kiss him.

Providing he wasn't running from the Carrows again…

* * *

I loved running. That sounded weird to some people and that was just fine by me. Like my brother enjoyed flying, I enjoyed running. With my earbuds in and my tunes playing on my cell, the rest of the world just melted away.

Andrew always teased me because I had a bad habit of singing when I ran. So what I thought. No one cared if I sang. I could have sung at the top of my lungs while running around the castle and there wasn't a soul around to notice. I was happy and not hurting anyone, so I told Andrew he could bite it.

It was cold, there was snow outside and I ran. It was glorious. The cold bit at my nose and my ears. My tunes played in my ears and my heart was pumping with adrenaline. I had just gotten to the entrance again when I came to a surprised stop. I was panting and he was grinning. I loved that grin. I smiled at him and out came the dimple.

I paused the music and walked over to him. It wasn't as if I could avoid him. He was standing in the doorway. "Hi," I said breathlessly. I was so blaming that on the run and not because of Neville. Nope, I was not admitting that to anyone.

"Hullo, Andi with an i." He said and I melted inside. How was it that I thought I hated that accent? "What is that you've got in your ears?"

"Earbuds," I said and stepped closer. I took one out and fumbled with it a bit so I could discreetly wipe any sweat from it before handing it to him. Neville stared at it and I bit my lip before I asked him, "Will you trust me?"

"Can I?"

I took the earbuds from his hand and said, "Yes."

He chuckled then. I went up two steps to gain a better height advantage and gently put one in his ear, which incidentally forced us to stand even closer. Yay. I then pressed pause button to let the music play and he jerked in surprise when _No Diggity_ started to regale him with a no-maj pop tune.

Neville was grinning as he enjoyed the song or at least listened to it with a bobbing of his head to the beat. I haven't a clue if he actually enjoyed the music or just the experience of listening to it through headphones. He shouted to be heard over the sound in his ear, "Fantastic!"

I giggled and pressed a finger to his lips. I then said in a normal tone of voice, "You don't have to yell. I'm right here."

He grinned against my finger, slid his hand from my waist (when did he even touch me in the first place?) to my hip and when I removed my hand from his lips I let it fall to his shoulder. Neville said in his husky accented voice, "Yes you are."

I would have loved to say that I played it cool and kissed him. After all, I had made that very promise to myself days ago that I'd kiss Neville Longbottom the first chance I got, but the truth was… I chickened out. My heart began to race and I said the first stupid thing to pop into my head, "I'm sweaty."

His lip twitched and he agreed, "Yes, well you were running, so it's expected."

"You should let me go…"

"Should I?"

"So I can shower…"

"You want me to let you go?"

"So I won't stink…"

He laughed then stating, "You're cute."

"I am?"

"You are." He thinks I'm cute. Neville Longbottom thinks I'm cute!

"So are you."

Neville looked surprised and asked, "I am?"

"Well no…" He frowned and I corrected myself, "You're hawt."

His eyebrow rose, "Hot? Is that good?"

"Beyond cute…"

"So, you're saying I'm fit…"

"Well you have muscles… so sure… okay, you're fit, too."

Neville laughed again and he kissed me. He. _Kissed_. Me. Neville Longbottom kissed me and I thought my world came to a stop. It wasn't a long kiss. It wasn't even a sexy kiss with the head tilts and tongue like you see in the movies. It was a peck really, like a kiss on the cheek you get from your mom or dad. It was sweet making my heart skip a beat and I swear it was electric. "Definitely cute."

And then he was gone… again.

He did that often. Maybe he was related to Houdini. Neville left me standing there holding my cheek that he kissed like a stunned starlet in a stupid B movie. I really could come to like Ish-land.

* * *

 **AN:** I'm fickle. In most stories I base Neville on the character from the book. In this story, I'm basing Neville off of Matthew David Lewis, because the man is fine. When Andi bumped into him, that is who I pictured her colliding with and she was struck dumb. Not something that often happens to Andrea, she's usually a spitfire, but she got wicked tongue tied in front of this boy.

 **Oh and to the guest review** : Nah, this is 7th year so Neville is not the shy boy we know and love in the early years… If you think about it, Neville wasn't that awkward by the time the trio came back to Hogwarts. By then he was a rebel and the leader of Dumbledore's Army and _that_ is the Neville that Andrea meets.

 **n0156d2** : Hope you're not disappointed with their interactions!


	4. Accent

**Your Accent is Weird.**

The only decent place I found to text Mom was in the owlery. That struck me as ironic really since that was where you went in order to send messages out of the school in the first place.

"What are you doing?" The voice sounded young… like another student, not a professor. So I wasn't quick about responding.

I hit send before I hid my phone in the inside pocket of my robe. Then I turned to face the… whoever it was that came up behind me. The girl was a redhead from Gryffindor. I never saw her in any of my classes so she was obviously not a seventh year. I didn't bother answering her; I just looked her over with a cocked eyebrow. Yeah, I threw attitude. I mean, seriously? I didn't know the Ish and there she was giving me the third degree. Rude. Where did she get off trying to be bossy to me?

The girl had attitude; that was for sure. She had a hand on her hip and her eyes narrowed at me. What was it with these people? They were so paranoid. Like I was going to hurt any of these birds? I liked owls; they were awesome even though I firmly believed texting was a superior form of communication. I saw her wand in her hand and my eyebrows went up as I asked, "Seriously?"

She frowned at me in confusion. No I'm not a mind reader, it was written all over her face. She had no occlumency it was obvious. "What?"

Obviously Ish slang was different again. I mean who knew telling someone they were fit meant you were saying they were hot? I didn't. I found out thanks to Neville, but sometimes we were speaking two different languages. I shook my head to bring my thoughts away from Neville and back to the girl with her wand out as if she were going to hex me. I sighed. "Why should I answer you?"

"Because I want to know?"

"You've got to give me a better reason than that." I crossed my arms defiantly, "I don't even know you."

"Your accent is weird."

I blinked at that. I guessed that was true… how weird was that? And what's more, that was so random! Still, "I could say the same about you."

"Perhaps, but seeing how we're in the UK, my accent is more common than yours."

"Touché…" I grinned. I couldn't help it. She was actually funny.

"I'm Ginny," the girl finally said.

"Andi…" Ginny frowned at me and I clarified, "That's with an i… my name is really Andrea, but everyone calls me Andi." I said with a shrug.

Ginny nodded with understanding as she put her wand away, "My mum named me Ginevra. I hate the name; hence the name Ginny."

"Ginevra… it's kind of pretty." I said as I leaned against the window, "But it kind of sounds like an old lady's name."

Ginny snorted. That had me giggling. For being a pretty girl, she wasn't very feminine. "Old ladies were once young girls."

"True," I looked out the window and sighed when I felt my phone vibrate. "Are you like…"

The girl stood by the window and peered out or more accurately pretended to. I could tell she was watching me. Just as I had said… paranoid. Then again with that war still going on, I supposed I shouldn't blame her. Ginny asked, "Like? I don't understand?"

"We don't know each other," I started and that got her full attention. Ginny turned to look at me and I continued, "Where do you stand on No-Majs?"

"No-Majs?"

"No-Maj, non-magical… oh right, you call them Muggles here." Ginny stiffened and her eyes narrowed. I braced. That could be a bad sign.

"I'm a Gryffindor!"

That reaction took me by surprise. What did that have to do with anything? "I'm a Ravenclaw." I said in question.

Ginny huffed, " _We_ don't discriminate against people due to their blood status."

"Oh…" They don't? How was I supposed to know that? "Well, that's good…" She visibly relaxed when I did and she tilted her head as if in question. So I told her, "My mom just responded and I'm dying to read her text. Only I wasn't about to pull out my phone if you were one of those haters." I pulled out my cell phone and Ginny moved closer to see what I had in my hand.

"That's a phone?" She asked.

"Yeah," I nodded distractedly and flipped the phone open. I read Mom's text before I explained, "I sent a text to my mom right when you got here. There's no reception anywhere else in this castle, but here."

"But that's a Muggle device," Ginny said. "How is it working here? All things electronic and Muggle are deemed useless around magic."

It was my turn to stare at her, "Really? Why?"

"It's always been that way. I don't know why."

"Obviously that isn't true. We always used our cells at school back home." I bit my lip and looked at my phone as I continued, "Since there's no electricity in the castle, or even at our last school, we use the solar phone chargers, but other than that they've been working for years. This one has worked since I've been here."

"How long have you been here?"

"Three weeks…" I looked at my phone again and said, "Hold on, Mom's waiting for a response." I began typing back to her telling her about the brewing times with Snape and how brilliant he was. After I hit send I looked back to Ginny. "I didn't mean to keep you from… whatever it is you were going to do."

"Oh," Ginny blinked and then grinned, "I forgot. When I saw you, the thought of sending my letter to Mum went right out of my head."

The redhead took a parchment from her pocket and looked up into the rafters at the school barn owls. One of the owls flew down to her and she spoke softly to the bird before tying the note to it. She stroke the owls head a time or two before the bird flew off. During that time, I had been texting back and forth with Mom about my grades and classes. I wanted to tell her about meeting Neville and how he was sweet, but I wasn't sure I wanted to share that yet. So instead I told her I was going to brew with Snape again tonight which was weird since we normally met on the weekend, told her I loved her and the Major and then signed off for the night.

"Ready?"

I wasn't sure why she wanted to walk together to the Great Hall, but she seemed nice enough. So I shrugged, "Sure."

* * *

I was walking to the lab when I saw a shape on the ground. I pulled out my wand immediately and looked around cautiously. There were no sounds, there was nobody around and I sighed to myself because I didn't want to get involved, but I couldn't just leave someone in need.

I cautiously approached and did the one diagnostic spell that Andrew taught me. It showed some odd things that I didn't understand, other things just showed that he was beaten up pretty badly. I crouched and gently touched the lump, "Can you hear me?"

He groaned and I flinched in sympathy. So I asked, "Can you make it to Madam Pomfrey?"

"No," He said in a croaky hoarse voice. He groaned again and slumped further to the ground. I had to bite back the panic. His words were so strained as he gasped out, "No… Pomfrey… no… proff-"

His words stopped as he coughed ending once again in a groan. I looked around for something… anything to help me and finally decided on Andrew. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do then. I'm going to move you inside that classroom so no one sees you. Then I'm going to get my brother. He works with Madam Pomfrey. You can trust Andrew."

I got no response. I wasn't sure, but it could be that he had passed out. I had to move quickly. So I went to the closest unused classroom and opened the door, "Mobilicorpus."

I still didn't know who was hurt, but it didn't matter to me at the moment. That's when an idea came to me and I whispered, "Tuppy?"

A pop came and Tuppy stood before me, "Miss has need…" His words tapered off when he saw the hurt boy I had been moving. "Miss does has need." Tuppy snapped his fingers and magically shoved three desks together, with another snap he floated the boy onto the makeshift exam table. I really loved house elves.

When I turned from locking the door, I saw immediately that the boy was a fellow Ravenclaw because he had a blue tie on. I recognized him, but his name eluded me. Tuppy climbed onto a chair and asked, "What more does Miss want Tuppy to do?"

"I don't know what happened to him, Tuppy. I only know he was beaten and I found him like this." I looked in my bag and grabbed a scrap piece of paper and wrote a quick note of where I was and what I needed from him before I asked, "Can you get this to my brother?

"Yes, Miss." Tuppy held his hand out, but I hesitated.

"If I gave you another note, could you get it to the headmaster without getting into trouble?"

Tuppy's hand withdrew slowly as he peered at me. He nodded slowly, but his ears drooped and I was worried for a moment that he'd refuse. Only he said, "Tuppy can."

I smiled brightly at the house elf and dashed off a second note stating, "Don't tell anyone, but I was supposed to meet him tonight. I've been helping him brew for the hospital, but this is going to make me late and I really don't want him disappointed in me."

Tuppy's ears perked at that. I wondered why he was nervous before, but I didn't get to question him because when he took both notes from me he popped away. I brushed the boy's hair out of his face and frowned at him, "Help is coming, just hold on."

There was a knock at the door, the usual rhythm: two - one - two. Andrew!

I ran to the door and opened it, pulling him in before I locked it again. "I found him slumped on the ground and he was conscious enough to say no Pomfrey before he passed out."

Andrew went over to the still form on the desks and did a diagnostic that I recognized. He noted, "That's Michael Corner, someone did a number on his face and ribs."

I still didn't have a clue what all of the readings meant, but Andrew seemed to. He did a few healing spells and mumbled his latin mumbo jumbo. I just kept out of the way and, as loathe as I am to admit it, I jumped when Tuppy popped back in. At least I didn't scream. I smiled at the elf, "Thank you for your help, Tuppy."

"I's happy to help Miss." Tuppy smiled back at me and then looked to Andrew, "Does Sir need potions that Tuppy can get?"

"Can you get a healing potion, pain reliever and bruise salve? It's all he really needs. He's bruised, in pain and had a cracked rib, luckily nothing is broken."

"Tuppy can." He said and popped back out. He wasn't gone for long before he was back with the items that Andrew had asked for.

"Thanks," Andrew said as he took the items.

I crouched beside the elf and he looked at me. He grinned knowingly and I kissed the top of his head. Tuppy chuckled when I declared, "I still say you're the best, Tuppy."

"Tuppy lives to help, Miss." And with that he was gone. I heard Andrew say 'reneverate' and I looked back to the boys in time to see Michael's eyes snap open.

Andrew held his shoulder down, "Don't move too fast, you'll fall off the desks and hurt yourself again." Michael laid his head back when he saw who was in the room with him. Andrew kept talking, "I need you to drink the healing potion. Mostly you're bruised. I healed your cracked rib. Nothing is broken. I have bruise salve for you. Use it after a hot shower. And if the pain is too much, there's a pain reliever. Drink that before you go to sleep."

"Thanks," Michael croaked out. He turned his head towards me and his eyes narrowed, "Why did you help me?"

I bit my lip before I asked, "Was I supposed to just leave you there?"

He was looking at the ceiling again when he said, "Everyone else did."

Andrew answered for me, "We were raised to do the right thing, even if it isn't easy or popular."

I was pretty proud of my brother right then, but I kept quiet when Michael's eyes narrowed on me again. I was stunned when he snarled, "She's not like you."

As Andrew snarled back, "Careful, Corner." I blinked at him asking, "What?"

Michael turned his gaze away from me, but wouldn't speak again. That hurt. I didn't know why, but it hurt deep. I touched Andrew's arm and said, "I have to go."

Andrew knew I was on my way to brew with Snape, so he didn't ask questions. Instead he just nodded and reminded me to, "Be careful."

"Of course," I said immediately and backed away when Michael gave me a dirty look. What the fuck? I just helped the jerk and I felt my back stiffen. What an asshat! I huffed at Michael, "Whatever."

I grabbed my bag, turned and walked away. I didn't have to take that from him. I knew I was a decent person. I didn't know what he _thought_ he knew, but I knew he was wrong. I shook my head to clear my jumbled thoughts.

* * *

"Enter."

I did. Unfortunately I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as I would have been had I not run into the lump on the floor. I should have left him there. Oh well, too late for that and really I couldn't have. Andrew wasn't lying when he said we were raised to do the right thing. The Major always pulled over to help when there were folks on the side of the road. It's just part of who we were. I waited until Snape looked up at me. "Evening, sir."

"You're late."

"Yes, sir." I sighed and saw my note on the end of the table. "I take it you didn't read my note then?"

Snape raised an eyebrow, "I did. Where do you think the elf got the medication for Mr. Corner?"

I swallowed hard at that. I should have known. My gaze dropped and I went over to an empty work table to put down my bag. "I shouldn't have bothered."

"Why is that?" Snape was cutting up a root that I recognized as aconite.

"He wasn't exactly grateful for my intervention. He likes my brother just fine, but for some reason wasn't all too thrilled with me being there." I winced, "Sorry sir. How can I help?"

"Do you know what this is?"

I stepped over to his table and wrinkled my nose. I had never smelt anything so vile before and shook my head, "No sir."

"Wolfsbane Potion," Snape said as he continued slicing the aconite.

"Really?" Okay that was a stupid question, but oh wow. Wolfsbane potion! "I've always wanted to make that... or help... or at least watch!"

Snape chuckled softly. He did that from time to time and it always caught me by surprise. It was so odd to see the usually stoic man relax. But when he was brewing, Snape was in his element and was so… zen. He pointed to the open book near me and said, "Read the directions carefully and tell me what you make of them."

I did as told and read through them. I knew it was a complicated potion, just how much was new to me because it was the first time I was allowed to read through the directions. I looked at him stunned, "We have to have this done by tomorrow or it won't do anyone any good. The werewolf needs to drink a goblet every night for a week before the full moon. This month it falls on the 11th."

"Very good. It also means I will need to concentrate fully on this and cannot help Madam Pomfrey with her resupply." Snape looked at me and nodded at the list on the table with my bag, "You've filled the majority of the list, but there is one you haven't learned yet."

I went to the list. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that he wasn't going to let me help him with the wolfsbane, but I'd settle for brewing anything right about then in order to get that butthead Corner off my mind. Just like Snape said, I had made the majority of the list already: healing potions, calming draughts, bruise salve, pain relievers, burn-healing paste, pepper up, blood replenishing potion, dreamless sleep and…

"Quietet nerui…" I looked over to Snape expectantly and saw his immediate reaction. He stiffened, but only for only a moment.

Snape nodded to the shelf next to him. My heart leapt. Those were his notebooks. _His_ works… the quietet nerui was one of his creations and I was going to brew it! I tried to hide my enthusiasm. I gave him a nod, set the newly crinkled list down (when did I do that?) and bit back my squeal of excitement. I walked (I didn't run. I didn't skip. I didn't bounce. I walked… swiftly) to the shelf that held a number of notebooks all containing countless bodies of his work. I reverently ran my fingers over the spines. I wanted that. To have loads of notebooks filled with my own work. Something to show the world I wasn't just a pretty airhead. Someday…

His voice broke me from my thoughts when he said, "Fourth from the left, near the end of the notebook, you'll find it."

"Yes, sir." I'd deny that my hand shook when I removed the fourth notebook from the left and skimmed the pages until I found it. His spidery writing was precise and something I was still getting familiar with. These pages were written very clearly. Potion concepts, ingredients used, ingredient quantities, number of stirs, clockwise, counterclockwise, figure eights and brewing times. Test results, theories and final conclusions.

Quietet nerui, literally translated from Latin to English, was calming nerves. The potion's concept was to counter the effects of the cruciatus curse. While nothing could cure someone that suffered from the curse, the quietet nerui potion would ease the nerves as the person healed. I bit my lip as I bit back my questions.

Questions like why didn't he get that one published? Why wouldn't he share it with the world? Especially with that damned war going on out there and the mini war that seemed to be going on in the school. Rumors of the Carrow twins and their love of that stupid curse. How older students were made to practice it on the younger ones or anyone in detention.

I learned over the course of three weeks that they weren't rumors. Andrew had to help Pomfrey tend to several students with the side effects. He told me there was a special potion that Pomfrey had him administer to those particular students. A potion he had never seen before. A potion that Pomfrey warned him not to question or speak about. Which of course meant he told me about it, but Andrew trusted me not to blab around about it.

Quietet nerui…

I blinked at that thought. Snape knew what was happening in his school. Of course he knew. He didn't like it, but he knew and he fought back quietly by making the potion. Snape was helping his students. I felt a hitch in my breath. I knew he was brilliant, but that potion just proved he was much more. Snape was one of the good guys. I held the notebook to my chest and looked over at him.

Snape was watching me. He gave me a small nod. "Go on. You'll find what you need in the supply closet."

"Yes, sir." I would deny that it came out breathy. I couldn't help it. He trusted me with that potion. His potion. Not just to make it, but to keep the existence of it secret from others. I wasn't going to let him down. I took a quick calming breath and got to work.

* * *

Tuppy was an amazing house elf. He wasn't just the one who made sure I had glorious coffee every morning, he was also the one who delivered the quietet nerui to the hospital. No wonder he was willing to go to Snape. No wonder he had no problem getting what Andrew needed for the ungrateful Michael Corner.

I let out a soft sigh. I shouldn't judge the jerk. I didn't know what went through his mind, but I didn't understand the look he gave me. What did I do to deserve that?

I was grabbed from behind. It scared the hell out of me. I didn't have time to let out a squeak, let alone a scream, before I was pulled into a dark alcove. I was pressed into the wall as the area grew darker. I dropped my bag and I fought back. I started kicking and punching. I was no victim! I was the Major's daughter and I'd be damned if I was going to be taken so easily.

"Bloody hell, Andi." He grunted and I stopped.

I whispered into the darkness, "Neville?"

I was wrong about where we were. It was a hidden passage that was covered by a tapestry. I knew that because once I said his name he lit his wand and I got a better look at our surroundings.

"Neville!" I hissed. I looked at him in horror. There were bruises and a new cut on his face. I didn't do that. Those were new since the last time I saw him, but at least a day old. I reached out a tentative hand and, when he didn't shy away, I gently touched his jaw. "What happened?"

"The Carrows," He said quite matter of factly. "You're spending time with Snape." It wasn't a question so I didn't respond. I wondered how he knew about my brewing with Snape, but I refused to volunteer information. If I asked how he knew, that would be confirming his suspicion. "He's a Death Eater, Andi." He was? I didn't know that. "He's the bloody headmaster and he allows his students to be tortured." That was true. I didn't understand why he allowed that, but he must have had his reasons. Not sure there was a good reason, but I also knew something that Neville didn't. Snape was helping his students. "Andi..."

It didn't make sense. The Snape I saw in that lab, the man I knew helped his students in secret, but why would he have to? Why not just stop the torturing? He was the headmaster. Wouldn't he have that power? If he was a Death Eater, he didn't have the power to do as he wanted. That Dark Wizard that Mom refused to name (I started thinking of him as U-No-Poo instead of You-Know-Who or the Dark Dude instead of Dark Lord) was his boss...

Neville cupped my cheek cutting off my thoughts and I had to admit that felt good. I looked up at him and Neville said, "He's not a good man to hang around. Why are you spending time with him?"

"I can't say." I told him honestly, "I wish there was something I could tell you." Something like why I thought Neville was wrong about Snape. Why I trusted the man. Why I thought he was so brilliant. And that was when I realized something. "That's why he gave me dirty looks."

"What?"

"Michael Corner. I found him on the ground. I wanted to take him to the hospital, my healing is limited to a diagnostic spell that Andrew taught me - and I'm still not sure what all the readings mean - and an episkey. I got a house elf to help me bring him into an unused classroom and then he got Andrew for me. Andrew helped him, but when Michael came to, he was all nice to my brother, but gave me dirty looks." What did they think I was doing with the Headmaster since they didn't know I was brewing potions? I dropped my head and was surprised that it landed on Neville's chest. When did he get so close?

"Andi," he said and I looked up at him. He looked in pain again. The pink rimmed his eyes. His cuts looked as if they were healing, but he had to be-

Neville kissed me. Not just that closed mouth, chaste peck on the cheek he gave me out on the steps of the school. Nope. It was the head tilted, brush his tongue along my lips until I let him in and holy mother of all things most awesome he kissed me until I was out of breath and couldn't think straight making my toes curl. All thoughts (of Snape and potions, Michael and dirty looks, rumors of me with the headmaster and what my brother would do to Neville if he found out we were making out) left my brain as his hands slid along my sides and my fingers were tangled in his hair.

I could officially say that I'd much rather make out with Neville Longbottom than brew potions.

Neville rested his forehead to mine. I thought that was kind of sweet, but then he said the oddest thing to me, "I shouldn't have done that."

I stilled because he was wrong. He most certainly should have done that and I hoped he would do it again… and soon… as in the next few seconds. But first I just had to know, "Why?"

"You're not mine," He said and a look crossed his face that I just didn't understand.

"Okay, so you jumped the gun a little. Sure…" He pulled away and looked at me in confusion. I sighed, "It's an expression. It just means we did things out of the natural order. Usually you ask a person out, date or something and then kiss… we just… went in a different order… unless you don't really like me…" I started to panic then. What the heck? Why would he kiss me if he didn't like me?

"That's the problem," Neville sighed, "I like you loads, but you're not mine."

"Then ask me!"

"Ask you what?"

"Ask me to be yours, Neville."

"You'd agree to… but what about Snape?"

What? "What about the Headmaster?" I swear we were going in circles and I was ready to get off that merry-go-round! "Neville, what are you talking about?"

"You're shagging Snape." Neville hissed the words out and his grip at my waist tightened. He said the words like they were the most disgusting thing to come from his lips. That couldn't be good, but I had to ask because I just had to know what was upsetting him.

"Shagging?" The second the word came from my lips, his hands tightened further and honestly it was starting to hurt. Neville growled. He also stepped closer. I was getting nervous. Okay I was getting a little scared. Still I had to know! "What does that mean?"

Neville took a breath to calm down and thankfully his grip on me loosened. I watched in fascination as he closed his eyes slowly and opened them again. Then he spoke a single world that rocked me to my core, "Sex."

I hit the wall when I recoiled. Ow. I couldn't let that distract me. I had to be sure I understood him. It was my turn to hiss at him, "Sex? With Headmaster Snape? You thought I was having _sex_ with him?" My voice went high in disbelief. How could anyone think that I would _do_ such a thing? That is just… ew! I shuddered at the thought and unfortunately I rambled in my discomfort, "Sure he has a sexy voice, but me have sex…" I shook my head as the thoughts tumbled in my muddled brain and unfortunately words kept spilling from me, "You were my first kiss… it was a good kiss… it was a great kiss… better than I had imagined, but all that time you thought…" I covered my mouth with my hand as my brain caught up with my mouth. My eyes grew big and I really thought I was going to be sick. I felt tears sting my eyes as I told him, "You kissed me…" I moved away from him and shook my head as I backed away. "You thought I was some kind of whore…" that word came out as a vile hiss, "and you kissed me…" How could he do that to me? I snatched my bag from the ground, "I thought you were special… I thought…" I thought he could be my boyfriend. I thought… I swallowed thickly, "I trusted you."

* * *

 **A/N:** While I usually create spells for my characters to use, this time I made up a potion that Snape created: quietet nerui.

 **n0156d2:** Thank you for that awesome review. I'm so glad you get this version of Neville and really understand where I'm going with this story!


	5. Trust

**I Need You to Trust Him**

I had so much on my mind I didn't realize another week had gone by until I caught a glimpse of the full moon from the window. The idea of that much time going by so quickly was odd since I had met a man every night for that week in order to give him the wolfsbane potion. He must have known that I hadn't been the one to brew it, but he never questioned who did.

As a matter of fact, we didn't really talk at all. We met up in the hospital ward under the watchful eye of Pomfrey. I simply handed him the smoking goblet, he nodded his thanks and drank the foul smelling thing down. Once he had drank it all, he handed back the goblet, said thanks (verbally, not just a nod) and left. The third night I responded with a 'see you tomorrow' which surprised him. I knew that because he stopped short before leaving, turned and looked at me. Then he gave me a small grin with yet another nod.

I didn't even know his name. I just knew he was a werewolf under the full moon, but when I saw him, he was a man. He was probably as tall as Andrew (so around 6'2" if I had to guess) with light brown hair with a smattering of gray (so probably Dad's age), gentle green eyes and a few scars on his face. The worse part was how tired he looked and so resigned to his fate… as if facing a death sentence or a firing squad. Sad really…

I was standing there looking out the window feeling practically mesmerized by the sight laid out before me. The evening was beautiful. The ground was white and pristine with snow; the shadows cast by the moon's glow were long, dark and ominous. It was like a black and white postcard. Picture perfect.

Andrew came up behind me. I knew it was him because I saw his reflection in the pane. It surprised me when Andrew threw a privacy ward around us before he started talking and I waited patiently to hear what he had to say. "I finally got Corner to admit what his problem is with you."

I watched his reflection and said, "Someone saw me go into Snape's lab. They don't know why I'm spending time with him, but he's a Death Eater and they think I'm dark."

His eyes widened for a brief moment and then narrowed suspiciously, "Who told you and why didn't you tell me?"

I looked back out to the grounds and I would have sworn I saw three shapes running along the border of the Forbidden Forest. I shook my head, "It doesn't matter."

"Andrea, they're saying you're fucking him."

I flinched. I knew that, too. I had to bite back my sorrow and thanked my stars for my occlumency skills since I managed to not break down in tears. I'm not sure what pained me more: the words Andrew said or hearing _him_ saying that to me. Either way that hurt me deeply, down to my very soul, because it was almost like he was accusing me, too. He should have known better. Of all people in the stupid school, I shouldn't have to defend myself from Andrew, my own brother… my twin. I said the only thing I could, "I'm not."

"Of course you're not." Andrew said, but he didn't sound convincing. "You need to make them understand."

My eyes went to his reflection again, "I can't tell anyone what I'm really doing."

"I know," He said and I braced for what he would say next because he got that stubborn look on his face and crossed his arms. "But I can."

"No!" I whirled on him then and stepped closer. I couldn't _believe_ he'd even suggest telling my secret to anyone. The school was full of gossips! If he told even one person, it would be around the school by morning. "He trusts me." I glanced behind him to see if anyone was paying any attention to us and naturally some of them were pretending to work as they glanced our way. "You know that potion you give to those students that have suffered from the cruciatus curse?"

"Yeah…" I looked at him then and didn't say another word. He got it. I knew that because his eyes widened before he said, "He makes those?"

"He created it. I made it last week, but yes… that is his and if you say anything to anyone, he won't be able to make it anymore."

Andrew stared out the window and said, "Fuck…"

I sighed deeply in relief because he got it. He really got it. "Yeah, Andrew… I don't know all of the weird politics that's going on in this school, but you and I have been thrown into it by the Major's move. Now we have to survive to the end of the year. I need you to trust me. I need you to trust him."

He nodded slowly, "Yeah. I'm getting that."

* * *

Apparently word spread around the school that I was doing the bump and ugly with the Headmaster. I finally understood all the looks I had been getting and it was really weirding me out. I wasn't just getting those looks from the student body. The staff and professors were giving me contemplative looks as well. Hell Pimple leered at me! Gross!

The next few days I spent most of my time in the hospital ward because it was the only place I could relax and just be me. Pomfrey was cool about it. When I came in the first time, she just looked over to me and nodded towards her office, allowing me to study at her desk. Even my own roommates looked at me wrong. They all believed the rumors regardless of how many times I told the girls it wasn't true.

My insides were twisted up on Saturday. I was scheduled to meet with Snape that evening and I was hesitant to go to the lab for the first time. Andrew wasn't helping matters. He got angry if he heard any of the whispers. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love him all the more for wanting to fight the entire school on my behalf, but he couldn't get in trouble. I didn't want him in detention with the Carrows.

I was up in the owlery texting Mom when I heard her again. "What are you doing?" I closed my eyes and gripped my phone. Ginny and I weren't friends yet not really. We met a few times in passing mostly and said hi, but that's an acquaintance, not a friend. I wish I had a friend right about then, because I really needed one. Not someone who was going to accuse me of doing the nasty and judge me…

"Texting Mom." Not that I had to answer the girl, but it was easier than playing games. I just didn't have the energy. I needed my mom. I needed to know I wasn't a bad person… to hear/read that someone else knew I was a good person… that I was doing the right thing by not defending myself and keeping Snape's trust.

"I figured that," Ginny said and she stood next to me. "I meant, what are you doing with Snape?"

"Not what you think I am." I held onto my phone like a lifeline and looked at Ginny. "I don't know where the rumor started. I don't know why they would think something like that of me. No one here knows me. How could they think I'd sleep with anyone let alone the headmaster? He's old. He went to school with my mom! That's just… weird and… gross."

"Wait, your mum went to Hogwarts? I thought you're an American."

"I am," I shrugged and leaned against the window sill, "Mom graduated from here back in the 70s and their family moved shortly afterwards to America. She met Dad, they got married… blah, blah… and now Andrew and I are here."

Ginny leaned against the window sill beside me and asked, "What's your mum's name?"

I couldn't resist being a brat. No one had talked to me like a real person in _days_ , "Rebecca Chambers."

"Her maiden name," Ginny rolled her eyes at me making me smile.

"Burke."

"Your mum is a Burke?"

"Mhmm," I said and suddenly, without meaning to, I was sharing, "Apparently people around here thought our family line died out. That's what Luscious implied anyhow-"

"Luscious?" Ginny laughed, "Who the bloody hell is that?"

I blinked. "I said that out loud?"

She was grinning still and nodded, "Yes, you did. Now share. Who is Luscious?"

"Oh," I blushed and confessed, "We were at Madam Malkin's store when they came in." She raised an eyebrow and I elaborated, "Lady and Lord Malfoy…" I saw her look harden and I giggled, "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Lord Luscious Lucius Malfoy is creepy, but he's hot. I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole, but eye candy is eye candy." I shrugged, "I have to sit by Jr. in Potions. He's nothing like his dad even if he has his looks. That boy is all creep without the suave hotness."

Ginny was giggling by the end of that tirade of mine. It really was awesome to just talk to someone again. Someone that wasn't my brother. Ginny shook her head and announced, "You have to be more careful, Andi."

"Meaning?"

"The Malfoys are dark. Draco and his dad are Death Eaters. You already have rumors around about you and the Headmaster… you don't want word getting out you're a Death Eater groupie!"

I groaned and held my stomach as if I was going to be ill, because seriously I thought I could be. "Pimple already leers at me. So. Gross."

"Pimple?" Ginny was laughing again.

That time I winced, "I really have to watch what I say. That's twice I slipped with you."

"Better with me," Ginny nudged me playfully, "At least with me you're safe."

"Thanks," I said. And I meant it. I had a friend. Finally. Things were looking up in Ish-land once again.

"So who is Pimple?"

I whispered, "Carrow."

And Ginny burst out laughing again. I was getting nervous. The girl was pretty loud. I didn't want anyone overhearing us so I quickly threw a privacy ward around us. Ginny wiped a tear of mirth and said, "Thanks. I haven't had a laugh in… months."

"I bet," I watched her as she calmed down. "It's pretty intense around here." I slid my phone back into my pocket and sighed, "I have to go."

"You never did say-"

"I can't," I stopped her from asking again.

"Neville said you're a good person. I think so too, but the rumors are out there."

"He said that?" I bit my lip and dropped my gaze. I couldn't look at her. I didn't want her to see how much I missed him. I didn't spend time with him every day before, but I'd catch glimpses of him in class or the Great Hall. Neville would stop when he could and speak with me, or brush his hand against mine when he passed. Only the past few days, ever since our kiss, I had been studiously avoiding him and eating in the kitchen.

"Yes, he did." My head jerked up because she had gotten closer while I wasn't paying attention, "He's a good friend. I've known Neville for years. He was my brother's roommate." Was… I wonder what happened… "He said he messed up, didn't say how, but he's a wreck. I told him to give you time. I also told him that if you're half as smart as he thinks you are that you'll know he is a great guy."

"But he kissed me…"

Ginny grinned and asked, "Yeah? You and Neville snogged?"

"I…" Only I wasn't smiling because I didn't know what snogging was, but it had better not be the same as shagging… I was really tired of the language barrier. "What?"

"Snogging, is kissing… really getting into it." She wagged her brows and I blushed.

"No! We didn't make out," I hated that she could get me to talk without really trying, but again… I shared. I guess I really missed having girlfriends to talk my problems out with, "It was one kiss… a great kiss… and he…" My heart hurt, but I said it anyway, "He thought I was… having sex with the Headmaster," I shuddered again, "Neville was my first kiss…" I shook my head and I dropped my gaze again, "I should go…"

When I went to walk away, Ginny grabbed my arm and said, "Andi, whatever it is with you and Neville, you can bet he's into you."

I searched her face. I wanted to believe her. I really did. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

I nodded and said, "Okay." It was time for dinner and afterwards I had brewing to do. Snape said he needed my help and I couldn't let him down. Ginny released my arm and I admitted, "But I trusted him with my heart. He was the first one I let in… ever… Neville thinks I'm a slut for Snape. That hurts… bad."

Ginny nodded then and she too said, "Okay." Then she surprised me and put her hand through my arm saying, "Let's go to dinner."

"But-"

"No more skipping meals."

"I wasn't skipping-"

"Then no more eating in the kitchen."

"How did you know?"

"Because if you weren't in the Great Hall and you weren't skipping meals, you must be hiding in the kitchen."

"Oh." Her logic made sense. "But first stop, bathroom. I can only imagine how bad my face looks right now."

* * *

I made it to the Great Hall doors and stopped cold. I couldn't do it. I didn't know who I was kidding. I saw them turn and look at me. Every single one of them was judging me. I could see it in their faces, their glares, their sneers… "I can't…"

Ginny was at my side and she said firmly, "You can."

"I'm not like you." I shook my head, "I'm not brave." I took a slow step back. I couldn't let them see me run, but I just couldn't face them. Sit with them. Eat with them. "I can't…"

"Andi," Ginny started and I turned to her shaking my head still saying that I can't when I turned to walk away.

I face planted into Neville shoulder and his arms went around me, "Careful, Andi."

"Neville…"

"Hullo, love." He said, "Can we talk?"

"Nev?" Ginny started.

"I've got her," Neville said in response.

"Okay." And I turned my attention to Ginny's retreating back feeling abandoned. Well damn.

"Mind taking your hands off of my sister?" Double damn.

"Stop it," I said.

"I rather like my hands on her actually."

"Stop it," I said again louder.

"Well I don't." Andrew grabbed my arm, but Neville hadn't let go of my waist.

"Stop it," I hissed.

"Come talk with me, Andi." Neville pleaded and I looked up at him.

"I said-"

"That's enough. Now, both of you let me go." I said firmly. I had had enough. Telling them to stop wasn't having an effect, they ignored me each time. I pulled away from the two boys and stepped back from them both.

"Is there trouble?" Flitwick… triple damn.

I turned and bit back my sigh. I gave him a forced smile and said, "Everything is fine, sir. My brother was going back to the table; Neville was going to his and I'm going-"

"To the table with me," Andrew cut in.

"I'm going to bed." I corrected Andrew, "I'm suddenly feeling ill." Andrew reached for me and I took a step away from him, colliding once again with Neville who felt the need to slip his hand around my waist to steady me. Quadruple damn!

"You two boys go to your tables. I will escort Miss Chambers back to the tower." He made a shooing motion to them and started to walk away.

Neville held me tighter and whispered, "Please don't shut me out," before he released his hold on me. He then walked to the Gryffindor table. I ignored my brother and followed Flitwick into the Entry Hall. He was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, but the moment I got closer, he started to walk again.

"Thank you, sir." I breathed easier for a hot minute, until we reached the fifth floor and he began talking to me.

"You need to be more careful, Miss Chambers." Flitwick stated and my world started to crumble again. Not him too… I had so much respect for the man. "I know you're a smart girl and I know what you've been up to because the Headmaster was good enough to tell me." Thank God! "Yet you managed to get yourself into a bit of trouble in there. The Carrows were itching to come down and throw the three of you in detention, but Severus stopped them saying it was up to your Head of House to sort things out."

"The Headmaster did that for us?" I was a bit stunned to hear that and plenty relieved.

"Yes," Flitwick said and opened the common room door for me. "I believe you still need to meet with him in the lab this evening." I nodded and he continued, "Just this once, I will allow you to sup here in the common room. I'll have a house elf bring you something to eat."

"Thank you, sir."

"Good night, Miss Chambers."

"Good night, Professor."

* * *

"Enter."

I opened the door and braced as I closed it behind me. There was no telling what sort of mood he would be in after hearing the rumors or witnessing my brother and non-boyfriend's stupidity (completely forgetting my part in it all because that would admit I was too cowardly to go eat with the rest of the students) in the Great Hall that very same incident he intervened with the Carrows on our behalf. Snape was stirring so I kept quiet and still until he looked at me. Snape's head came up and he pinned me with those obsidian eyes of his. He was angry. I could see it in the way his jaw twitched. I swallowed before I spoke, "Good evening, Sir."

While I was pretty proud of myself for keeping my voice even, Snape continued to stare and I fought the urge to fidget. After a good long stare, Snape finally dropped his gaze back to his work and said, "I did not expect to see you this evening."

"I was scheduled to be here…" I shifted my weight and his eyes snapped back to me. Damn.

"Your Head of House said you were ill and went to bed," Snape said and again went back to work.

But… he said… "You told me you needed my assistance tonight. I don't slack in my duties," I stated and again he looked at me. The way his eyes kept snapping back to me was creeping me out.

Only that time I got nervous because he set his silver dagger down and planted his hands on the workbench to level his gaze at me. "You don't slack in your duties." He repeated my words, but it sounded twisted when he said them as if was mocking me… which he probably was. While it wasn't a question, I sure wanted to say something in my defence. Only Snape wasn't done talking. "I don't suppose these duties would include cultivating unfounded charges that I would lose sight of my morals and all propriety." Double damn. Of course he heard the rumor, too. That didn't surprise me, but he couldn't possibly believe I had anything to do with them. "Perhaps it was beyond your realm of reason to circumvent the rumors before they spread throughout the entire student body as well as the staff."

Snape was so angry his nostrils were flaring. I swallowed hard and bit back the tears. "I did deny the rumors. Only I couldn't tell anyone what I was doing so they didn't believe me. If I could say I was brewing potions for the hospital, I'd at least have a reason to be in your lab and better yet, it's the truth!" I was so tired of being accused of screwing with that man. I was starting to get angry, "Only I can't tell anyone because you made me swear not to."

He pushed away from the table and crossed his arms over his chest. His mouth twitched. I blinked at that. Snape's mouth… _twitched_. He was trying not to laugh at me! **Rude**! Snape was amused…

The man chuckled. If I thought I could get away with it, I'd hex him. Snape lowered his head shaking it slowly. His amusement grew as his shoulders began shaking from his silent laughter.

I huffed. I didn't care how much trouble I was about to get into because the man needed to know that, "I'm not amused."

Snape looked at me and grinned. I'd never seen the man smile before. I was stunned into silence. He then said, "I am."

I was so confused. When I came into the lab he was so angry he was shooting daggers from his eyes. Then Snape chewed me out because I didn't manage to stop the rumors and now… now he was amused? "Why?"

"I was ready to throw you to the wolves for the false accusation of an indiscretion," He took a calming breath and said, "Yet it appears it was of my own making."

I'm not sure when I had moved, but apparently I had. My arms were wound around my belly as if hugging myself and I had backed my body against the door, "Oh." I relaxed. Marginally. My shoulders weren't as tense and I edged from the door. I hated the whole idea of him being angry with me. I respected the man and his work. I hated to think he was disappointed in me.

"Miss Chambers, you are allowed to tell others why you're here. You are not allowed to mention what we brew further than to say they are for the hospital ward." He leveled his gaze at me again, "Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." And I did. I was also super relieved. I didn't know how much it would help, but at least I could say what it was we were doing… to a point.

Snape looked back at his work and frowned. He then pulled his wand and vanished the potion he had been working on, apparently it was ruined. He looked at me and his eyebrow rose again, "Let's get to work."

* * *

Considering the rocky start of my evening, the time in the lab went surprisingly smooth. I was feeling… optimistic. Were all of my troubles behind me? Not even close. Was I in a better place than I was that morning? Hell yes.

1\. Mom was able to talk me down… okay text me down, from the ledge I felt I was teetering on.  
2\. Ginny and I had a… gosh, I don't know what it was, but we clicked somehow. I think I might have a friend in Ish-land… providing I could forgive her for abandoning me with Neville. (I could of course)  
3\. Snape was researching a new potion, I was allowed to detail the results.  
4\. We debated the benefits or drawbacks of adding armadillo bile to his project and he _listened_ to my point of view without dismissing it out of hand.  
5\. I had two boxes of potions (that I made, thank you very much) to deliver to the hospital ward.  
6\. I had permission to tell people what I was doing (in a general sense) during my time in Snape's lab.

Yup, it was definitely better than that morning. Sure the rumors were still around, but maybe I could put an end to some of them soon.

I was making my way to the hospital ward with the boxes. One of them was smaller than the other. The little one was filled with Snape's special potion, while the larger had the usual hospital wares such as healing potions, blood replenishers, pepper up and a headache tonic. I was surprised that Snape had me delivering the quietet nerui rather than Tuppy.

"Chambers!"

I nearly dropped the boxes in my surprise. I knew the potions would have been safe had I dropped them, but I didn't want to take that chance. I worked much too hard on these potions. I turned and looked at Pimple, "Sir?"

"Why aren't you in your common room?"

"I was told by the Headmaster to take these potions to the hospital ward."

"You're out after curfew."

I frowned at that. It wasn't after curfew. I still had thirty minutes. "The Headmaster said I had thirty minutes…"

"You agruin' with me?" He bared his yellow, crooked teeth at me and I shuddered. Damn, damn, double damn.

"Is there a problem, Professor Carrow?" My grip on the boxes grew tighter when I heard him speaking behind me. I didn't turn around, because I suddenly felt him standing beside me. I stood taller and watched that loathsome pig scowl and cower in Snape's shadow.

"She's out-"

"Miss Chambers is carrying out an order given by me. Is there a reason you are detaining her?" Snape's hands were behind him, but I could almost swear he had his wand close by just in case. Or perhaps that was just my wishful thinking.

Pimple grunted and looked up at Snape, "Curfew," was all he managed to bite out.

"Yes," Snape agreed, "If you detain her further, she will be late for curfew. I suggest you move along, Miss Chambers."

"Yes, sir," I said without delay and skirted around the snarling Pimple.

I practically ran to the hospital ward. I could have, but I didn't want to damage the potions I was carrying. I burst through the doors and looked around quickly noting that the ward was empty. I sighed in frustration and nearly screamed when the door opened behind me. I did jump and admittedly I squeaked. Well I was on tenterhooks! I mean I was seriously freaked out. That Pimple was creepy and he… well, if he believed I was a Death Eater groupie… I shuddered at what could have happened had Snape not shown up.

"Madam Pomfrey!" I stepped forward, "I have potions for you… but…"

Pomfrey smiled in understanding and nodded to the nearest bed, "Set it down and I'll take care of them. Hurry on; you don't want to be late."

"Thank you!" I said as I ran out the door.

* * *

 **AN** : Okay so my daughter asked me if that was even possible. Meaning how would Remus make it into the school unseen and would he even trust Snape to make the potion? I told her it was AU and I just wrote what I was told. Some things just don't always make sense to me. Because when I tried to keep that part out, Andrea balked. *shrugs*

So if that part annoys you nearly as much as it did for Elipsa ... sorry! If I try to go against what my characters tell me then they stop talking which means I stop writing and I really needed to keep writing in order to keep what sanity I have left intact.

 **n0156d2:** I love your reviews. Thank you for your thoughts and taking the time to share them with me!


	6. Scars

**Some Girls Think Scars Are Sexy**

Scarecrow was on one of her many tirades. She thrived on telling us how horrible muggles were. She had such a nasally voice that grated on my nerves. If the Carrow twins weren't Death Eaters assigned by U-No-Poo himself, there was no way they could ever be professors. They were both much too dim witted.

During class I doodled in order to appear as if I were taking notes. Muggle Studies was the only class I didn't use my notebooks and pens. I stuck with the outdated parchment and quills. There was no way I'd leave myself open for any ridicule or punishment. That woman was nuts.

Andrew got into the annoying habit of sitting beside me in every class we had together. I didn't mind at first because I didn't want to hear the gossip, but the rumors were slowly being replaced with other more interesting news about the war. Once I was given permission from the headmaster to tell others I was brewing potions, most students lost interest and found new things to gossip about. That and the fact that I was seen bringing potions to the hospital directly from Snape's lab numerous times helped.

The real kicker was when Snape stopped me in the Entrance Hall to discuss the difference of using cinnamomum verum versus cinnamomum aromaticum. It took all of my occlumency skills to keep a straight face. Seriously? We were standing there talking a about cinnamon! The real difference, of course, was in its origin and price. Still the man managed to carry on a five minute conversational debate with me and pretended to be interested in what I had to say as if any of it mattered. As I had mentioned before, the man was brilliant.

I refocused on Scarecrow as she continued her 'muggles are like animals: stupid and dirty' campaign. I would have loved to argue with her. The Major was neither stupid nor dirty. He was actually quite clever and one of the biggest neat freaks I'd ever met. OCD was putting things mildly. The military had a knack of attracting that sort of person. Everything had a place and everything should be in its place. And heaven forbid anything wasn't spit shined and lined up properly.

I apparently missed the part about how the Dark Dude was going to reestablish the natural order of things and put the filthy muggles in their place. She mixed it up a bit. Some days she led with they were animals, other days she led with U-No-Poo.

Thankfully class was nearly over (not that I had heard much of what the woman was saying) and I was even more grateful that there was never any homework in the class. It made me wonder what our final would be about. There were no books, no homework. Scarecrow just lectured us about the same thing every class. Perhaps that was it. She was going to see how much of that drivel she threw at us actually stuck.

"So how much do you have in you?" Neville asked. I looked over at him in surprise. No one spoke in that class. No one dared. No one did, until now.

"What?" Scarecrow screeched. "What did you say?"

Neville was frowning at Scarecrow and I braced. There was something about the look he had on his face. I couldn't pin it down, but it just looked… mischievous… or more accurately it was a hint of mischief with a faux thoughtfulness… "Just how much muggle blood do you and your brother have-"

Scarecrow's scream cut off anything else Neville had to say or ask. Her wand was out and Neville was flying back. My heart was racing and I went to flick my wrist to grab my wand, but Andrew's hand was on my arm to hold me back.

"Get out! All of you! Out!" Scarecrow screamed as she stomped over to her injured student.

I shoved my things into my bag all the while looking from Scarecrow to Neville. He was slow getting up; blood was on his face… his handsome face. I wanted to go to him. I wanted to hit him for being so stupid. I wanted to hex her for hurting him. Only I wasn't brave. I wasn't going to do a thing but leave like I was told. Mom said not to step out of line, to keep my head down and it killed me inside to do that. I wanted to blame Mom for my act of cowardice, but the truth was… I was scared.

Scarecrow cried out "Crucio!" before we even hit the door. I was also scared for Neville.

Once we got to the door, I grabbed Andrew's arm and hissed, "Wait."

Andrew looked at me, I motioned with my eyes towards the door of an unused classroom across the hall and he nodded once. We stepped to the side so the rest of the class could exit. We waited until the other students left the area before we entered the empty classroom and waited for Neville. He would be the last to leave.

It was the last class of the day, so I wasn't overly concerned about being late for anything, but the waiting was so hard especially knowing what Scarecrow was doing to Neville. The screams that we had to listen to brought tears to my eyes and I held my bag close to my chest. I whispered, "She's killing him."

"Torturing isn't killing," Andrew stated and I wanted to punch him in the face. Was that supposed to make me feel better? "Besides, I heard he's a pureblood. She won't kill him."

The screaming in the room stopped. I dropped my bag and disillusioned myself immediately before I stepped into the hallway. I then watched as Scarecrow tossed Neville (using magic since the guy outweighed her) and his belongings out of her class. The moment she slammed her classroom door closed, I went into action. I dropped my disillusion charm and whispered, "Tuppy!"

With a small pop, Tuppy was there, "Is Miss… ah… Miss is needing Tuppy."

"Can you please take him into that room?" I continued speaking softly while motioning behind me. "Andrew is already in there waiting for him."

"Tuppy will," the elf said and with a snap of his fingers he walked into the classroom floating Neville in behind him.

I gathered Neville's belongings and joined them closing the door softly behind me. Andrew was already working on Neville and Tuppy was gone. I supposed my brother had sent him after potions again. I set Neville's stuff down on a desk and wiped away my tears before I went any closer to them.

Neville looked at me and grinned tiredly, "Hullo, love."

I had to swallow back my shock at what I saw and heard. His voice was scratchy and hoarse from the screaming. There was a long gash across his cheek from his temple to chin. It wasn't bleeding any longer and Andrew was cleaning the cut. He then muttered his healing spells and I watched in fascination as it knitted the skin back together. Andrew stated, "It's going to scar. We should have taken him to Pomfrey."

"She's already got her hands full," Neville said to Andrew, but he kept his eyes on me. He grinned and when I didn't move he said, "Andi…"

"You're insane." I said and he reached out for me, but I shook my head, "No, you don't get to put me through that," I flung my arm out towards the door trying to bite back my mounting hysteria, "flash me your dimple and expect me to just forget… everything."

Neville's grin broadened and he winced when he chuckled. I flinched at his pain. Then I moved. I took his hand in mine and we both ignored Andrew's huff. With my free hand I brushed my fingers through his tangled hair and told Neville, "I realize some girls think scars are sexy, but I'd appreciate it if you minimize the number you have to just those two. 'Kay?"

"Sorry," Neville started and winced again when his body involuntarily convulsed, "Can't make that promise. There's a war out there and a smaller one in here. We all have to do what we think is right."

"Well sure," I started, but Tuppy was back with 3 vials of potions and I lost my train of thought in my relief. I took the quietet nerui from him, "Thanks, Tuppy."

"The healing potion first," Andrew corrected me and I nodded.

I set down the quietet nerui and grabbed the healing potion. I immediately looked at the writing on the vial and smiled. Neville saw my grin and asked, "What is it?"

"They're mine." I stated and popped the seal before helping Neville raise his head a tad in order to drink the potions.

Neville grimaced at the taste, but drank it down without argument. I let his head rest back to grab the next potion, but before I could get him to drink the second vial he asked (his voice sounded nearly normal thank God), "What do you mean?"

"I make the majority of the potions in the hospital ward." I raised his head and tipped the second vial to his lips. He watched me as he drank the ice blue liquid. He sighed when I let his head lie back again. "That's what I've been doing with Snape in his lab. He does research or brews. Sometimes he quizzes me on theories or we discuss various ingredients, why they would or wouldn't work with other ingredients. All the while I restock the hospital's supply of potions."

"You're that good?"

I shrugged, "Yes."

Neville chuckled, but grimaced when his stomach muscles spasmed. He was breathing easier, but still appeared to be in pain, "No modesty?"

"Nope, when it comes to my skill in potion brewing I'm confident." I stated as matter-of-factly as I could manage. Then I admitted, "I'm not as good as the headmaster, but I'm near par to Slughorn… or so I'm told. I was taking pre-apprenticeship classes in Salem."

"A true Ravenclaw," Neville commented.

"That wit beyond measure stuff is load of bull." I shrugged again, "Sure I'm smart. Yes I study. I get good grades, but is that all I care about? No. The Sorting Hat actually considered putting me in Slytherin because of my ambition to prove myself, but said," and I mimicked the Sorting Hat as best I could (accent and all), "given the current turmoil within the school's walls you'd be safer in Ravenclaw."

"Huh," was all Andrew said.

I jumped in surprise because I had forgotten Andrew was there. Neville and I both looked at him, but only I asked, "What?"

"Nothing," Andrew started, but continued by saying, "it's just that the hat said I'd do well in Gryffindor, but said I needed to be in Ravenclaw."

"We could have been roommates," Neville said. Then he thought better of their situation, "The hat was right; it's better that you aren't. Too many Gryffs are getting into trouble with the Carrows lately. We need folks to stay clear and look out for us brash, brave lions."

"You could try staying out of trouble. You don't have to always be in their face."

Neville got an alarmed look, "I'm not in anyone's face!"

I rolled my eyes, "It's just an expression."

"You Yanks have odd expressions…"

"Right, because your words make much more sense," I started ticking them off on my fingers, "prat, gobsmacked,"

Andrew chimed in with, "barmy, knackered,"

I continued with, "chit, bloke,

My brother threw in two I hadn't heard, "bird, bollocks,"

I then added, "shagging, snogging-"

"What?" Andrew chuckled, "What the hell is shagging and snogging?"

"Sex and making out respectively," I said promptly.

I then winced when Andrew growled out, "How do you know these words?"

"Passing conversations and rumors obviously," I waved him off and turned my attention back to Neville, "Point is you don't always have to be confrontational. That's pure brashness; bravery has nothing to do with it. You're brave if you're afraid yet do what's right anyway."

"Something I learned from a mate of mine: it helps when people stand up to them, it gives everyone hope." Neville grabbed my hand again and tugged me closer, "Not to mention being brash has brought you back to me."

"But I…" I bit my lip, "I'm not…" I tried to pull away, but his grip on my hand grew tighter. Not that I couldn't have pulled away if I wanted to, but I really didn't want to. "Neville…"

"Yeah, I'm out of here. I don't need to be witness to any of this crap." Andrew stated. I watched him grab his book bag and walk to the door. He stopped with his hand on the knob and looked back to say, "Andi, I'm not telling you what to do, but… be careful."

"Thanks, Drew."

"Thanks, mate." Neville said to a departing Andrew who threw up a hand in a parting gesture as the door closed behind him. Neville tried to sit up so I helped him in order to keep him steady. He dropped his legs over the side of the desk and Neville pulled me closer so I was standing between his parted thighs. His eyes hit mine when he asked, "But you're not… what?"

He was so close… or I was… either way, I could barely breathe with his hands at my waist. I swallowed hard and stubbornly said, "I'm not back. I haven't changed my mind," but he ignored my claim and kissed me. Not the toe curling, oh my God, I'm in heaven kind of kiss, just a sweet brush of his lips against mine and wow that just made my heart skip a beat.

He cupped the back of my head and told me, "I've been a right prat. I knew the rumors couldn't be true seeing how you're too sweet of a girl, but I needed to hear it from you. You denied it and I was chuffed thinking that was my chance to get in there and get to know the real you. Only things got right twisted in the end."

"I remember a prat is a jerk, but you lost me at chuffed."

"Chuffed… slang for happy…" Neville rubbed his thumb along my jaw, "very happy." The gesture was rather… intimate… endearing… oh, I don't know what it was; it just made my stomach squirm in a good way. Happy… Neville was happy to have a chance with me! I'd be happy if he kissed me again. Wait… so that meant… what did that mean? He still kissed me before he knew I wasn't really having the sex (gag!) thing with the Headmaster. Well he said… "They're threatening Gran…" What?" "My grandmother." I had to pull my thoughts back to what he was saying and focus on him… his words… not his lips. Stop staring at his kissable… soft… wait… his grandmother. Focus, Andi! I dragged my eyes from his mouth and looked at his eyes as he continued, "Gran raised me since my parents were sent to St. Mungo's after the last war." St. Mungo's? I didn't have a clue where that was, but if it was anything like St. Paul's in New York, that wasn't good. Oh, poor Neville. "She's all I have left, if you don't count Uncle Algie… which I don't." Oh there was a story there. What did that Algie guy do? "These bloody Death Eaters are trying to keep me in line. They're allowed to torture me without doing permanent damage seeing how I'm a pureblood. It's not working." He grinned and flashed me that dimple, but it didn't last. Because he got reflective when he said, "Thing is, Gran won't put up with that. They'd be fools to go after her. Besides she's right proud of the trouble I'm stirring."

"I am too," I admitted, "I'm proud of you for standing up for what's right… even if it scares me."

"You worry for me?" Neville touched his forehead to mine. I was distracted by the angry scars on his cheek as I silently nodded, "That's sweet." He kissed my forehead and whispered against my skin, "If things were different, if this was last year before the Death Eaters took over, I'd have asked you to Hogsmeade." I bit my lip and leaned into him. He wasn't done talking, "As it stands, we aren't allowed to leave the school grounds. So there's no chance of going out on a date. Still, I'd be honored if I had your permission to get to know you better… properly."

Properly? "Does that mean you won't kiss me again?" I blurted the words out before I could stop them and I blushed. I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks.

I got the dimple again when Neville smiled, "I intend to kiss you every chance you give me."

That got him both of my dimples when I smiled back. I didn't manage to respond because he did exactly what he said he would do. Neville kissed me.

* * *

"Andi."

I finished writing the sentence before I looked up from my homework. My brother planted himself in the chair across the table from me. "What's up?" Andrew threw a privacy ward around us - it was becoming a common occurrence with my brother - and my brows furrowed with concern. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope," Andrew gave me a grin… a full dimpled grin. That was surprising. He hadn't had anything to smile about in weeks… months really. He hadn't grinned like that since before the Major announced we were moving to Ish-land. Andrew was still grinning when he announced, "Easter is coming."

Seriously? That had him grinning like a moron? So I prompted, "Yeah?"

"We can go home for Easter break."

My stomach dropped at his words. I hesitantly said, "Or I can stay here and study." His grinned died. I sighed and reminded him, "We have MEWEs-"

"NEWTs."

"Whatever," I waved my hand dismissively. I didn't care what he called it, we had exams coming soon. Not that I needed to, but I tapped my Arithmancy book for emphasis, "I need to study."

Andrew understood what drove me. He was my twin after all. He knew me better than anyone. Andrew tugged the book towards him and sighed, "You know this shit."

He wasn't wrong. I did know Arithmancy, "but I'm not as strong in runes or transfiguration." I countered.

With a sigh he agreed, "Yeah, okay."

"Besides, do you think Dad would let us come back if we went home?"

"Do you _want_ to come back?" I shot him a glare and he stopped asking me such an asinine question, "Right. Longbottom…"

I rolled my eyes. "Not because of him…" At his eyebrow quirk I blushed and amended, "Not _just_ because of him…" I tried instead and Andrew smirked. Whatever, "I can't get a decent apprenticeship without those test scores and I _will_ be a potions mistress someday!"

* * *

It was the day after Easter and we were sitting in the Great Hall. The train had brought back fewer students than what had left. Andrew sighed and I bit my lip. Maybe he was right… not that I'd admit that out loud… ever. He growled, "We shouldn't be here, Andi."

I gave a small shrug of acknowledgement. What more did he want from me? I couldn't change the past. I couldn't just wish I had listened and really… if I was honest (at least with myself)… I wished I had listened to him.

Sue, Lisa and Isobel didn't come back and those girls were just from my year in Ravenclaw. I looked over to the Gryffindor table and didn't see Ginny. She probably didn't come back either.

If that wasn't bad enough, Neville went missing. One day he just… disappeared. I was worried for him. He had mentioned his grandmother and how the Death Eaters were threatening her to keep him in line. I wondered what might have happened to the woman and if she too disappeared.

Dinner appeared on the table and something was niggling in the back of my mind. I missed something. I looked around the Great Hall and that's when it dawned on me. Not only were there fewer students, the Gryffindor table was nearly bare as was the Hufflepuff table. If that wasn't disturbing enough, every student in the hall was quietly eating. The atmosphere was static. No one spoke, joked, laughed or smiled… it was as if we were at a wake.

* * *

We were walking back from dinner when I saw him. It had been at least a week since I last saw him. My heart skipped a beat in my excitement. I knew I missed him, only I hadn't realized - until that moment - just how much I had missed him. I wanted to cry out to him, but what he signaled was for discretion. I could do that. I turned to Padma, Sara and Mandy noting that they were already looking at me. Sara looked scared, Padma looked curious and Mandy shooed me off. I just smiled at my friends, "I'll see you in the common room."

Sara grabbed my arm before I could move, "Be careful."

I squeezed her hand as I removed it from my arm, "I will. Go on. I'll be there before curfew."

Neville was waiting for me in an empty classroom. I closed the door behind me; then I spelled it secure. By the time I put my wand away and turned, Neville was there wrapping me in his embrace.

He was trembling and I held him closer. He was scaring me. I didn't know if he was hurt or if he was scared or… heck I didn't know what was going on. So I asked, "Neville, where have you been?"

"We're in hiding," Neville pulled back and he had a huge grin. Okay, so not scared. I looked into his eyes, no pink rim so no pain? Why was he trembling? "It's been crazy! We're holed up in the…"

His words stopped abruptly. Adrenaline…

That must have been the reason why he was shaking. Neville was speaking quickly, his words tumbling out in such a rush. His eyebrows drew together and he shook his head, "It's probably best if I don't tell you. Then they won't hurt you for information…"

He wanted to protect me. Dad was in the military. I knew the value of secrets. His theory was flawed though. If they thought I had information they'd torture me regardless of whether I knew or not, but I wasn't going to argue with him. So I readily agreed, "I understand. Some things need to be kept secret. Don't worry I won't ask too many question. Just tell me that you're okay and have you heard from your Gran? That's all I need to know."

"Gran's good. She's on the run. They went for her, little old lady living alone, they probably thought they didn't need to send anyone particularly powerful. Anyway," Neville laughed, "Dawlish is still in St. Mungo's. She sent me a letter telling me she was proud of me and she's safe. That's when we went in hiding."

I let out the breath I had been holding. Not sure why I was so worried, but I was relieved to hear she was okay. How weird. I had never met the woman before, but knowing how important she was to Neville made her important to me. "I'm glad she's okay."

"You mean that, don't you?" He was searching my face. For what I didn't know, but when I nodded he gave me a soft kiss. "Thanks, love."

A thought struck me, "If you're supposed to be in hiding, is it safe for you to be wandering the halls?"

Neville shrugged, "Maybe not, but I had to see you. I needed to let you know we're okay."

"I'm glad you did." A thought occurred to me and I just had to ask, "Do you have supplies: food, potions, clothes, things you need?"

He didn't say a word. His face got a pinched look. He shifted his weight. That was his answer without even speaking. That meant things weren't great for those in hiding with him. Neville had said we several times. I imagined he was referring to the majority of the missing Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs - even some Ravenclaws - so I nodded, "Okay. We need to take care of that."

I turned in his embrace since he didn't seem to want to let me go (not that I'd complain) and called out, "Tuppy?"

When the pop came - Neville was pressed to my back, his face in my neck and his arms tightened around me - I smiled at the elf as he said, "Tuppy comes. How can I's be helping?"

"Hi, Tuppy," I greeted. "I'm not sure if you can help, but I have to ask because it's important. There are a number of students that are in need of food. The thing is…" I took a deep breath and continued, "We can't tell any of the professors about the food or where the students are. I don't want you in trouble or any of the other house elves, but is it possible to have baskets of food prepared - with stasis charms to keep the food fresh - and can feed up to…"

Neville whispered in my ear, "There's twenty-three right now."

That had my head spinning. Twenty-three? Wow. That was a lot of kids. I didn't want to give an accurate count so I padded the number just in case Tuppy was questioned at some point in time, "thirty students?"

"I's can't," He said immediately. I felt deflated at that bit of news. Tuppy tilted his head as if in thought and then he smiled, "but Tuppy knows who can."

Another pop came shortly after he said that and suddenly there was another house elf standing beside Tuppy. She looked so sad and dirty. My heart broke for her. Tuppy huffed and wagged a finger at her, "Winky is being bad elf. Young Miss is needings Winky for important task."

Winky sniffled, wiped the back of her hand across her face and looked up at me with huge brown eyes. "Miss needs Winky? Winky can help?"

I crouched so I could be eye level with her, forcing Neville to let go of his hold on me. I didn't know her story, but she was a mess. I wasn't sure Tuppy was right about her, but I was willing to give her a chance. Those other students and my Neville needed her to pull it together. So I put on a brave face and smiled at her, "I hope so. You can't tell the professors about any of this. We need meals prepared for thirty students and put into baskets. The baskets will need a stasis charm put on them and they will need to be delivered to this room first. Then Neville," I pointed to the guy still standing behind me, "will tell you where to take them. It's a secret… one that you can't tell anyone, including me and Tuppy. Can you do it?"

She was wringing her hands and shooting nervous looks from Neville to Tuppy and back to me. Tuppy intervened, "Winky is free. You's can do it. I's can't. Tuppy is bound to castle and would have to tell… so Miss _needs_ Winky."

Winky was free. That was part of her story. It hurt my heart to hear that. No wonder she looked so miserable. Winky sniffled again and looked at Tuppy while nodding. She spoke softly, "Winky can."

"Thank you!" I hugged the little elf.

She stiffened in my embrace and Tuppy laughed in understanding, "Miss is giving Tuppy thanks all the time. I's got used to it. Winky can too."

Winky patted my shoulder (more to make me stop hugging her, rather than to appease me) and nodded to Tuppy. She then pulled away from me and said with enthusiasm - more than I thought she could manage - saying, "Winky has work!" She smiled hugely and popped away.

"I said it before," I looked at Tuppy with a huge smile.

Tuppy grinned and shook his head saying, "Tuppy isn't best elf, but I's happy to help," before he popped away.

* * *

 **AN:** I love Tuppy and how he interacts with Andi. As the chapter unfolded he flat out refused to withhold information from Snape. In my warped mind he took the story over and called for Winky. That wasn't planned by me at all. It's funny how even house elves can be stubborn in my stories.

Anyhow, the story has progressed to late-April. You do realize what's coming… right? As much as I'm looking forward to seeing how this ends, I'm not looking forward to all the death and fighting… blah!

Side note because I thought of it… for some reason my story image keeps dropping. How weird is that?


	7. Always

**Carry it With You Always.**

Something happened. I didn't know what, but the entire hall was buzzing with it. The place hadn't been that animated in all of the months we had been there and it was nice to see the students so alive for once. Mandy cried out in a loud whisper, "Look at this!"

She had that evening's newspaper in front of her and was apparently referring to an article. Perhaps that was what the others were discussing. I looked at her as I sipped my ambrosia in a mug. Honestly, how these Ish survived on tea and not coffee still amazed me. Unfortunately I had started drinking it in the evenings as well as mornings. I stared at my drug of choice. Perhaps I was becoming addicted to the caffeine. Sara was leaning closer and I looked over Mandy's shoulder and frowned at the photograph of several very irate goblins standing inside their bank gesturing wildly. Irate goblins wasn't really newsworthy, their bank usually wasn't either, but there was a huge hole in their lobby floor as well as their ceiling. Naturally that was something worth reporting! Alongside the goblins was another photo. That picture was of a frowning teen-aged boy with glasses and it didn't look like he wanted to be photographed. The headline declared 'Harry Potter Wanted for Questioning About Gringotts Break-In'.

Mandy began reading, "Early this morning, imposters entered the bank in an attempt to gain access to the vaults below."

The reading was interrupted when Terry started laughing, loudly. I looked down the table at the boy. He was sitting with my brother, Anthony and Kevin. Anthony had a copy of the Daily Prophet evening edition. Terry whooped in excitement and my eyes immediately shot to the head table. Both of the Carrows were standing. Pimple had his wand out already and the headmaster wasn't in attendance to stop them. My heart was racing. Why did Terry have to make a scene? Things were finally feeling normal (as normal as could be with even more students missing, like Padma and her twin), but now…

Terry pointed at Pimple and Scarecrow and laughed, "He's riding a dragon to clear you lot out." A dragon? I didn't know what he was talking about. There must have been something about a dragon in the newspaper article. "Harry Potter will start a revolution and save the school. You two will be the first to go."

He hadn't stopped yelling at the Carrows even if I stopped listening to him. Not for the first time, I looked to the teachers sitting at the front of the Great Hall wishing they could stop the Carrow twins. McGonagall looked like she sucked on a lemon. Flitwick had his hands clenched and I thought he might have stood up as well, but it was too hard to tell considering the man's height… or lack thereof. Terry was too busy laughing to see the spell coming his way. His body flew across the room and I felt Mandy's hand on my arm. We drew closer together and I closed my eyes to look away while I felt for the mokeskin pouch the headmaster gave me. With Andrew healing as many students as he could, I was tasked to carry a medicinal pouch with me at all times to help him. It was just one more way Snape was discreetly helping his students.

Terry cried out in pain. I felt Mandy tremble beside me. Why did they have to stand up to them? Neville claimed that it gave the other students hope. What hope were we supposed to feel when we watched a fellow student get tortured or beaten?

* * *

Scarecrow wouldn't let us leave the Great Hall. We had to witness his punishment. I hadn't had to witness anyone be disciplined before. Listening to Neville's screams was bad, seeing Terry's body jerk and spasm, hearing his screams, seeing the blood from the cutting curses, _smelling_ the blood… I thought I was going to be sick. Once they were finished, Andrew was allowed to take Terry upstairs to the hospital ward and we were sent to our common rooms.

"Miss Chambers," Snape summoned me over once I made it to the Entrance Hall. He stood stoically by the banister at the foot of the marble staircase, hands folded behind his back. The students were giving him a wide berth before heading upstairs.

I looked at him in curiosity. We weren't scheduled to brew that evening, but that didn't mean Pomfrey didn't need more stock. "Yes, sir." I turned to the girls to tell them, "I'll see you in the common room," before I went to see what the headmaster needed.

"Come," was all he said before he walked back into the Great Hall.

I didn't want to go back in there. Poor Terry had been really worked over and the house elves were probably still cleaning up the blood. I gave an involuntary shudder, but dutifully followed him. He didn't stop moving until we were out of the flow of students. Snape was staring at the floor when I caught up to him. I didn't want to look, but much like a moth to flame, my eyes instantly went to the spot where I last saw Terry being tortured. I was surprised - and relieved - to see the stones were already clean. I swear house elves were awesome.

"The time grows closer," he muttered.

"Sir?" I asked, but gauging his reaction, I wasn't supposed to have heard him.

Snape stiffened, didn't say another word and moved to a door off to the side of the head table. Once we were inside, he threw a privacy ward at the door and frowned at me. He didn't look angry, he looked deep in thought. "There will come a time when I will send for you." He moved to the fireplace and looked into the flames. "You've proven to be reliable, discreet and…" Snape took in a breath before he softly said, "trustworthy."

I blinked back tears. He trusted me! That was so… aw damn. Time was growing closer… that just meant one thing. Something was coming. Something huge. The only thing I could think of was the war. I wondered if it had to do with the Gringotts break-in and Potter. Snape was silent for a moment longer before he turned his attention back to me and asked, "Do you have your medicinal pouch with you?"

"Yes, sir." I answered immediately.

Snape took something from a pocket and held it out to me. I went to him immediately and took it. It was a vial filled with green liquid. There was no label, no indication what it was. I stared at the glimmering contents as he spoke, "When I summon you. I will most likely be in need of that. Carry it with you… always."

I pulled out my mokeskin pouch and opened it. "I will," I promised before carefully placing it inside. I looked up at my headmaster, my teacher, my mentor and repeated, "Always."

* * *

There was a loud bang. I didn't know where it came from, but I shot up in my bed and looked around as my heart pounded in my chest. Something was wrong. I could feel it in my soul. I flicked my wrist to release my wand. It was a sad truth that I felt safer wearing my wand and holster to sleep. How f'd up was that?

I could swear I heard footsteps out in the hall. I began to panic. What if someone was hurt?

I shoved my feet into my fuzzy house slippers and snatched up my mokeskin pouch, slipping it over my head. I looked at the other beds (being the last girl in her room, Sara moved to Lisa's bed), but the girls were still fast asleep. I moved to the bedroom door and slipped out.

With wand in hand, I made my way to the banister and looked over the edge in time to hear one of the younger boys cry out, "I think she's dead!"

"Let's hope not, Duncan. We'll all catch hell if she is." Andrew muttered as he made his way to the witch that was sprawled on the common room carpet.

The first year stopped his excitable bouncing at that thought and backed away from the prone body. It was Scarecrow. I made my way down when Andrew crouched next to her. There was broken glass scattered around her body from one of the bookcases. By the time I made it down the steps there were a lot more students around trying to see what was going on. Andrew looked up asking, "Does anyone know what happened?"

Duncan - the little first year that thought Scarecrow was dead - shook his head, "Nu uh."

I looked over Andrew's crouched form and wrinkled my nose at the woman. "Is she drooling?"

Nervous laughter could be heard from the others around the staircases, but they didn't dare to come closer. A sudden loud banging on the common room door had every Ravenclaw in the room frozen in place. Damn. From the other side we heard the soft, musical voice that issued forth from the brass eagle door knocker: "Where do Vanished objects go?"

"I dunno, now do I? Shut it!" It was Pimple! Double damn. He started to yell, "Alecto? Alecto? Are you there? Have you got him? Open the door!"

Then without warning, there came a series of loud bangs, as though Pimple was firing spells at the door. Andrew waved his hands at the students to shoo them out of the common room. Duncan hesitated staring wide eyed at the door, much like a deer caught in headlights. I grabbed his shoulders, turned him bodily and pushed him towards the stairs while Andrew hissed, "Go back to your room!"

"You know Pimple is going to blame us for her."

"Shit." Andrew glared at Scarecrow and seemed to come to a conclusion, "We have to hide her."

"What? He knows she's here!" I couldn't believe how stupid my brother was behaving. Then I saw the bindings leap around the woman. Seriously? I asked, "Where would you put her?"

"Alecto! If he comes, and we haven't got Potter - d'you want to go the same way of the Malfoys?" Pimple bellowed while shaking the door for all he was worth, but still it didn't open. "Answer me!"

"I have an idea." Andrew levitated Scarecrow from the floor, laid her on the couch and did a series of spells to carry out his half-baked plan. First he silenced the woman, followed by a rennervate. Andrew had to work fast as she began silently screaming and squirming. The banging on the door returned. Scarecrow's head snapped towards the door with a victorious gleam in her beady eyes. Andrew groaned, "Shit. Didn't think of that."

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"I should've put her to sleep, not revived her. Go back to your room. No need for you to get in trouble, too." Andrew pointed his wand at Scarecrow and glared, "Obliviate!"

"Drew!"

"Got any better ideas?"

"Well, no…" I hated to admit it, but I didn't. I bit my lip and glanced once again towards the door. I looked at the broken bookcase and quickly threw a repair at it. The glass tinkled softly as it drew back into place.

Andrew ignored me and continued his work, putting the wretched witch lying on the couch into a spell induced sleep and unbinding her. At that time a second familiar voice rang out beyond the door catching both of our attention. "May I ask what you're doing, Professor Carrow?"

"You know McGonagall will know the answer to the riddle. We're out of time, come on." Andrew moved around the couch and grabbed my arm, "Hurry."

Andrew pulled me along with him. We moved as quickly as we could towards the stairs. Pimple yelled at McGonagall on the other side of the door. "I'm tryin' ta get through that door!" Another bang was heard, "Go and get Flitwick! Get him to open this door. Now!"

McGonagall's voice wasn't hurried, nor had she moved away to do the man's bidding. Andrew stood beside me in the shadows and we watched the door. He dropped a disillusionment charm over his body as a precaution. Which I hated to admit was pretty clever, so I did the same. "Isn't your sister in there. Professor Flitwick gave her entrance earlier this evening, did he not? Perhaps she could open the door for you and you won't wake half the castle in your haste."

"Well, she ain't answerin'." Pimple sounded spitting mad at that point. "You open it! Go on!"

"Certainly, if that is your wish." McGonagall sounded cold and condescending. Andrew snorted in amusement and I had to give the woman points for being cool under pressure. That old woman was proving to be a true Gryffindor, brash and brave.

Once again there came a knock and the eagle door knocker's voice chirped, "Where do Vanished objects go?"

"Into nonbeing, which is to say, everything." McGonagall answered evenly.

I couldn't help the small grin of respect at the way the professor carried herself. The response from the knocker was expected, "Nicely phrased."

I whispered to my disillusioned brother, "She's got style."

The door opened and Pimple pushed his way into the room with McGonagall approaching at her own slower pace. He frantically looked around and found his sister curled around a pillow on the couch. Pimple let out a growl of fear and anger. "What have they done? I'll Crucio the lot of 'em till they tell me who did it."

McGonagall casted a diagnostic spell and her lip twitched as if fighting a grin. "She's asleep. She'll be fine."

"No she won't either!" Pimple spun around towards the other professor. "The Dark Lord is coming and we ain't got 'im. She called fer 'im and he thinks we got Potter!" There was that name again. Harry Potter was coming to start a revolution, according to Terry Boot. My insides lurched at the thought of more students getting hurt.

"Got Potter?" McGonagall asked in a clipped tone. "What do you mean 'got Potter'?"

It was hard to miss the woman stiffening when she asked for clarification. I felt Andrew fidget beside me and I reached out to grip his hand. I too wanted to move and look over the banister in hopes of seeing everything more clearly. As it was, we could only see Pimple as he faced McGonagall. The man's rant continued, "We was told he might come here. We was to call when we got 'im."

"Why would he come here to Ravenclaw's Tower? He's in my house!" McGonagall all but scoffed openly at the stupidity of the man's statement and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. It was weird how much I wanted to laugh considering the severity of the situation. Then again, my need to laugh could be a sign of stress. That had me frowning. Stress was bad for your heart and caused wrinkles. I straightened my brow with effort because so did frowning!

"I dunno why, do I?" Pimple glowered and I refocused on the conversation going on in front of us. The man looked around a bit as he smacked himself on the forehead a few times. Did he really think that would help? I was so tempted to volunteer to hit him in the head a few times to find out. For Science! Pimple rambled, "We can push it off on the kids." His eyes lit up as an evil grin spread across his ugly features, "We say Alecto was ambushed by them kids," Pimple pointed at the ceiling, apparently thinking of the students in our dorm rooms, "and they forced her to press her Mark. Then when he gets here and it's a false alarm, he will punish them!"

That dick! My grip on my brother's arm tightened. Andrew was so tense beside me he was practically vibrating. Pimple was a coward and ugly and… Andrew moved breaking through my mental tirade. Slowly, he moved to go around me and I flattened against the wall as best I could to not hinder him.

While Pimple was nodding and mumbling about what a brilliant plan it was, McGonagall's voice cut through his rant. "You are not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not permit it."

I wanted to cheer her on. It's about damn time! "Excuse me?" Pimple stepped closer to the Transfiguration professor and I felt Andrew move yet again. I didn't know what my brother was doing, but decided I needed to back his play, whatever that might be. Pimple's voice was low and threatening, "It is not a matter of what you'll permit, Minerva McGonagall. Your time's over. It's us what's in charge here now, and you'll back me up or you'll pay the price."

Pimple spat in her face. Gross! Who does that? I shuddered in disgust. A voice spoke, filled with anger and hate. A voice I didn't recognize said, "You shouldn't have done that."

I stopped in my tracks. I had no idea where the guy came from or who he was, but he suddenly appeared as if from thin air and had his wand drawn. Pimple spun to face him. That's when I recognized him from the newspaper article. It was him. Harry Potter. Harry shouted, "Crucio!"

The power behind the spell amazed me. Pimple hadn't simply fallen to the ground and writhed in pain like Terry had. He was thrown across the room, past McGonagall and into one of the bookshelves that lined the walls of the common room all the while writhing and screaming in agony. I sighed when I realized it was the same bookshelf that I had just repaired.

Triple damn. The guy wasn't here to start a revolution and save the school. He was just as crazy as the Carrows!

I jumped in surprise when quiet hit the room. Everyone was staring at Pimple. He was still writhing, but while his mouth was open, his screams were silent and suddenly he just passed out. I grabbed my pouch in a reflective action. Andrew must have casted a silencing charm on Pimple and put the man to sleep like he did for Scarecrow.

"I see what Bellatrix meant," Harry spoke in an adrenaline rush, "you really have to mean it."

"Potter!" McGonagall hissed. "Potter… you're… that… That was very foolish."

"He spat at you." Harry growled.

"Be that as it may, it was still foolish…" McGonagall wiped the spittle from her face and shook her head as if not knowing how to respond. She looked down at Pimple saying, "Mr. Chambers, please see to Professor Carrow."

"Already did, Ma'am." Andrew dropped his disillusionment charm. He reached down before handing McGonagall two wands. Two? I didn't remember him grabbing Scarecrow's wand. Andrew was staring at Harry and I could tell by his look he wasn't impressed with the guy. I couldn't say I was either. I mean any fool that was heartless enough could cast an unforgivable (Goyle and Crabbe were prime examples) and a few out of sheer desperation. Four months at Hogwarts had taught us that unfortunate lesson. Andrew said, "Carrow's been silenced and is now in a magically induced sleep, just like his sister."

"Well done," McGonagall nodded.

"You and… and that girl…" Harry stammered and raised his wand at Andrew. "Who are you?"

"Lower your wand, Mr. Potter. This is Mr. Chambers, a prodigy of Madam Pomfrey. You didn't think I was foolish enough to be unprepared, did you?" She knew we were here? Well we did move, but she had her back to us… oh right. She knew because Scarecrow was in a magically induced sleep. Crafty, clever and cool under pressure. I was gaining more and more respect for the lady.

"Andrea?" Andrew turned his attention to where he last knew I was standing. I sighed and dropped my disillusionment as well. He gestured towards Pimple saying, "He needs a quietet nerui."

I huffed and crossed my arms across my chest. No way was I giving _him_ one of those, "He's not worth a potion."

"You don't get to pick who you heal."

"You don't…" I smirked at my brother, "I'm not a healer. I'm a potionist."

"Andrea…" He said warningly.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow at him and when he didn't relent, I looked to McGonagall dropping my arms in a flail, "Am I wrong? Drew's the healer. Why should I waste a potion - _that_ potion - on him?" I waved a hand towards Pimple, "He's evil and doesn't deserve the relief of a good potion and he did spit on you and that is so very ew!"

I was surprised to see McGonagall's lip twitch in amusement. It didn't last, she shook her head and stated, "Save your potions, Miss Chamber. He can sleep off the effects."

Harry spouted, "Who is she now?"

Crossing my arms again, I huffed, "You're obviously not paying attention. I'm Andrea Chambers, potions prodigy-"

"And resident smart ass." Andrew added. I glared at my twin.

The professor sighed softly and folded her hands before her. She looked at Harry over her square glasses and asked, "What to do with you, Mr. Potter?"

"Voldemort is already on his way."

"Oh we can say his name now?" The sing song voice came from seemingly nowhere just as Harry's had. A girl with long wavy blonde hair and blue eyes flung off what appeared to be a shimmering cloth from over her head as she stepped out of the shadows.

"I don't think it makes any difference what we call him," Harry said as McGonagall grabbed her chest in surprise and took an unsteady step backwards.

Andrew gripped her elbow and eased her into a chair. My brother then crouched beside the elderly witch asking, "Are you okay, Professor? I'm sure Andrea has a calming draught…"

The attitude of the transfiguration professor changed abruptly from flabbergasted shock to offended and I bit my lip to keep from giggling. "That will not be necessary," McGonagall turned back to the blonde girl. "Are you well, Miss Lovegood? We were concerned when you didn't return after the Christmas break."

The blonde girl smiled dreamily at the professor stating, "I'm quite well thank you." She then floated (yes floated, not walked or glided or… seriously she looked like she floated when she moved) to me and I was surprised when she grabbed my hands in hers. She smiled brightly at me saying, "Neville asked me to let you know he's okay."

"He is?" I smiled at her. I didn't know who she was, but I seriously wanted to hug her right then. "Thank you!"

"That's Andy?" Harry asked.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes," Honestly he wasn't very bright. He better be a good fighter if the other kids were right about him, saying he was some kind of savior or something.

"I'm Luna," She introduced herself, "That's Harry." She then giggled and turned to Harry, still holding my hands, "Her name is Andi… with an i."

My heart swelled hearing that. Luna knew about the 'i'. Neville must have talked about me with her… he was thinking enough about me to send word with Luna. I refocused on the goings on in the room. McGonagall had regained her feet and was talking to Harry. Luna had apparently let go of my hands while I was daydreaming of Neville and was standing at his side. The professor was saying, "You have to flee. Hurry now, Mr. Potter, as quickly as you can!"

"I can't, there's something I need to do." Harry glanced at me and Andrew before turning his attention back to McGonagall. "Professor, do you know where the diadem of Ravenclaw is?"

I looked up at Ravenclaw's statue that looked down at the common room. Her diadem was clearly important. I had heard the legend and even spoken to Helena once. She was really something. I never asked her where the diadem was. I didn't think it was my place to ask. The legend mentioned that it had gone missing many years ago. Rumor had it Helena was killed over it… or something to that effect. I frowned in thought asking, "Did you ask the Gray Lady?"

"Oh," Luna smiled at me, "I wish I had thought of that."

Harry frowned at me, "Why would I talk to a ghost?"

"You don't know who she is."

"She's the Ravenclaw ghost." He said testily. Dimwitted. Honestly.

Luna touched his arm saying, "She's Helena Ravenclaw."

I smirked at the dumbfounded look on Harry's face. I couldn't resist, "Don't be so narrowed minded. Sometimes you have to think outside the box and be open to other solutions."

Harry looked at Andrew saying, "I see what you mean by smart ass."

I resisted sticking my tongue out at him. I wasn't two years old, but I was really tempted to do just that, "Whatever."

"Still, she was the last one alive to have seen it," Harry continued. "Know where to find her?"

Okay, that I didn't know. I shrugged, "I ran into her purely by accident in the transfiguration hall coming out of class one late afternoon."

As we all grew quiet in contemplation, McGonagall spoke up in a huff, "You're losing focus, Mr. Potter! If what you said about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and he indeed knows you're here…" Wow, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? First time I had heard that hyphenated version. That was a mouthful, but she wasn't done, "Potter, are you alright?"

I looked over at Harry. He had his eyes screwed shut in pain, holding onto Luna's shoulder. He rubbed his forehead and said, "Time's running out. He's coming. I'm acting on Dumbledore's orders, I must follow them through."

Andrew was there running a diagnostic and frowning, "Nothing is showing but pain…"

"I have a pain elixir, it doesn't cure anything, but it will help tamp down the pain. Best part, it doesn't make you all loopy or give you medicine head."

Both McGonagall and Luna looked confused, but Harry seemed to understand and said, "That would be appreciated, thanks."

I pulled out my mokeskin pouch, dug out a vial and, before handing it to him, double checked that it was okay to consume. As Harry drank down the elixir, McGonagall spoke again, "You're acting on Dumbledore's orders…" She peered at the teen as he sighed in relief. The moment Harry nodded she apparently came to some kind of decision because her shoulders squared and she instantly became her usual no-nonsense persona. "We'll secure the school against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named while you search for the Gray Lady and her mother's diadem."

"You can do that?" Harry looked skeptical.

By the guy's reaction, I guessed that U-No-Poo was stronger than I feared. I listened quietly and felt Andrew move closer to my side. McGonagall's confident look never wavered for a moment when she said, "I would imagine so, Potter. We teachers are rather good with magic. I'm sure we can manage to hold him off for a while. Of course there is Professor Snape," I stiffened when she mentioned him. "We'll have to do something about him."

McGonagall's eyes cut to me and I sighed, "I can talk to him. He's really not the bad guy you think him to be." I couldn't say more. I wished like hell I could, but an oath kept me from saying anything and the hard looks I got from Harry and McGonagall made me wince.

"He killed Dumbledore!" Harry yelled at me and I blinked.

"The last headmaster?" My question had Harry blinking in surprise that I didn't know that fact, "Oh, well… it's not like I know these things." I flailed, "He's been good with me… when I'm brewing with him. So… yeah…" I stopped talking when Andrew put a hand to my shoulder and squeezed. He understood that I was torn between what they said Snape had done and what I knew of him. Stories… politics… there had to be reasons for his actions… there just had to be.

"What can we do to help," Andrew asked. I kept quiet and wrapped my arms around my middle. I suddenly felt sick. There were a lot of students still in the castle. The Dark Dude was coming and war was on his heels.

"Expecto Patronum," McGonagall surprised us all by sending out her patronus, not once but three times, before telling us, "You two go upstairs and dress. Get everyone up, dressed and downstairs as soon as you can. We'll meet in the Great Hall in fifteen minutes and decide how to get the younger students out of the castle safely."

I took a deep breath and nodded, "Yes, ma'am." I said and turned on my heel. I knew a dismissal when I heard it. Andrew was slower to leave, but I didn't care. I needed to get away from them. My head was swimming with conflicting thoughts, so I focused on the task she had given us.

With determination I double timed it up the steps, pounding on doors on my way and ensuring the occupants were up by calling out, "Up and at 'em. Double time! Up. Dress. Fall out in the Great Hall in fifteen!"

Not sure if they understood me, but everyone heard me. I knew that because they were scrambling off their bed, grabbing clothes and muttering questions that I didn't bother to answer. No one was asleep anyhow seeing how the majority of them had been downstairs to see that Scarecrow had been taken down. The ones who missed out were more than likely woken up by the others and filled in on the situation. Half the rooms were empty as they gathered together in droves to talk about what was happening. So when I finally reached my own room, I wasn't surprised to see my roommates awake, dressed and hosting a few sixth years.

"Finally!" Mandy cried out and hopped from her bed.

I pointed at the sixth years and said, "Go get dressed. McGonagall is calling a meeting in the Great Hall. We have to be there in fifteen minutes." When they just stared at me I lowered the tone of my voice and bellowed, "Move it!"

They scrambled off the beds and ran for the door as I moved to dress as well. I hated to admit it, but the Major was right. People responded to those who behaved as if they were in charge.

Sara was hugging a pillow to her chest and sat wide eyed staring at me. Mandy had no qualms in giving me the third degree the minute our bedroom door was closed, "What's going on out there? Orla said something about Carrow was dead, the others disagreed and-"

"Breathe!" Sara interrupted. "She can't answer if you keep asking questions."

Mandy spun around and looked at her friend before she nodded, "Right," and turned back to me, "So, give!"

"Both Carrows are down, not dead. That Potter guy is here. Dark Dude is on his way. We're meeting in the Great Hall to get further instructions. I think McGonagall is looking to send students out of here, but I don't know how."

Mandy went back to her bed to grab her shoes as Sara was putting her own on. Mandy looked over at me as she slipped on a sock, "Harry's here?"

"Yes," I admitted while slipping on my yoga clothes. McGonagall didn't say we had to put on our uniform and they were much easier to maneuver in. I was trying not to panic over the fact that we'd be fighting Death Eaters and worse… whatever worse was, but I had a horrible gut feeling there would be worse because we were dealing with a Dark Dude extreme. I continued with, "I also met a girl named Luna Lovegood. Apparently she went missing at Christmas time?"

"She's okay?" Sara asked.

"She looked okay to me," I finished dressing and, as an afterthought, grabbed my school robe to throw on over my clothes. "But it was my first time seeing her, so what could I compare that to?"

Mandy rolled her eyes at me and Sara threw her pillow managing to toss it in my direction…. She missed, but it caused me to grin at my friends. It was a nice break from all the stress downstairs, but duty called and we needed to move, "Come on, let's go."

We double timed it down the stairs until we came to the common room. Every Ravenclaw (still living in the dorms) was there. I didn't see Flitwick, which didn't say much since he was a little man, and made my way to Andrew. Everyone was staring at the ceiling so I finally gave in to my curiosity in order to see the Carrow twins in silvery rope nets dangling from the ceiling. I gaped at the sight. It was some seriously good wand work to do something like that. Andrew nudged me, "McGonagall's handy work. At least that's two less Death Eaters to fight."

"I have a sudden urge to find a long stick and a blindfold," I divulged and Andrew snorted at my piñata reference that, naturally, no one else understood. I then looked around at the gathered students before I told him my plan, "We need to herd them down to the Great Hall."

"Andi," Andrew started, but I interrupted him.

"McGonagall didn't say we had to wait for anyone to come get us, she said to meet her down there… so we're going. Sue and Terry aren't here to lead the younger years so it's up to the upper classmen to look after them."

Andrew turned to look at the other students, "Who here is a prefect?"

"I-I am," One boy stuttered. I didn't recognize him.

Sara whispered to me, "That's Stewart Ackerley."

"I'm not sure what Flitwick was thinking when he assigned Stewart as a prefect. He's afraid of his own shadow." Mandy added.

"We're not Gryffindor," Sara reminded, "We're not known for bravery."

Andrew nodded gravely and looked around for any others. I didn't waste any more time and offered, "Okay Stewart, seeing how you're only a fifth year and probably a bit out of your element, we're going to help you out with these younger classmen."

Stewart nodded in relief. His shoulders visibly sagged and he moved to stand beside Andrew. My brother just gave him a small grin and addressed the room, "You know about as much as I do about what's going on. The rumors are true. Harry Potter is here. That Dark Dork is on his way with his posse-"

"Oh my God, Andrew. You're as bad as they are with the slang," I threw my hand out showing how many confused people he had staring at him. "The Dark Dude is on his way here to the school. He's bringing his Death Eaters. The professors are banding together to fight him off and they're going to be sending the younger years to safety. Don't know how they're going to manage that, but they seemed to have a plan. So everyone fall in and let's double time to the Great Hall."

I got more confused looks and Andrew smirked at me before clarifying, "Just line up in two rows."

* * *

"Where's Professor Snape?" Asked a Slytherin girl. I didn't know which one, nor did I care, since I only wanted to know what the answer was.

McGonagall stood before the student body stating, "He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk."

The Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws cheered. With the exception of me and Andrew. Mostly because we didn't know what that meant. I tugged at Mandy sitting beside me and asked, "What does that even mean?"

Mandy calmed long enough to explain through her huge grin, "He ran off."

I frowned at that. I thought about it for a while and couldn't for the life of me figure out what it all meant. There were too many missing pieces of the puzzle that was Headmaster Snape. I also noted that not one person asked about the Carrow siblings.

McGonagall raised her hand to quiet the students and that was when I looked closer at the people standing around and behind her. Along with the professors were an assortment of adults and a lone centaur. They didn't all look like staff members. I didn't recognize the majority of them; well really I only recognized one of the non-professors. There standing off to the side a small distance from the others was the werewolf I had given the Wolfsbane potion to.

Unlike the others, he didn't cheer, smile or applaud the Snape announcement. He remained ever stoic and severe as if resigned to sadness. Honestly, the man looked like he desperately needed a hug.

McGonagall began talking about moving out the younger students and I leaned towards Mandy again, "Who is the centaur?"

Mandy looked at me in astonishment and then realization, "That's Professor Firenze. He teaches divination."

That surprised me. "That is so cool." And it was. I'd probably lower my standards enough to take the class if I knew it was taught by a centaur!

"I know that you are preparing to fight." A creepy, cold voice spoke over everyone and we all froze in fear. Some girls screamed, but I too scared to do anything. I shuddered at how close he sounded, like he was in the room with us. His voice had reverberated throughout the room all around us. It had to be him... the Dark Dude had arrived. "Your efforts are in vain. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I respect the professors of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

Everyone stared at each other. The Great Hall was filled with students including those who had been in hiding. Some shifted in their seats, some huddled, others trembled. I sat numbly and I wondered just how close No-Poo really was. Then again, I didn't really want to know. I had a sudden urge to run to the owlery and text my mom and dad to tell them I loved them.

"Give me Harry Potter," the voice spoke again, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded.

"You have until midnight."

The poor guy was standing near McGonagall. Everyone was staring at him. Me included. He frowned out over the gathering students as if waiting for someone to speak. Then it came. That same Slytherin girl (I looked to see who it was that time, it was that stupid ditz Pansy Parkinson) that pointed at Harry and stated, "But he's there!" As if we didn't already know he was right there. "Potter's there!" Thank you Captain Obvious. Only then she compounded her idiocy by saying, "Someone grab him!"

That's when they moved as one. At least twenty students, including Neville, stood with their wands raised, pointed at the Slytherin side of the room, prepared to fight for Harry. It was rather awe inspiring and I finally understood what Neville had been trying to tell me. I felt it for the first time since I arrived in Ish-land.

Hope.

* * *

 **AN:** Yes, I used the conversation between Minnie  & Amycus was nearly verbatim from the book. I will do that from time to time (including the speech from Old Voldy and his give me Potter rant). It doesn't make sense to rewrite conversations that happened in the book and in my story.

Oh and yes, I had to use the Always word ... it just screams Snape, doesn't it? *sighs*


	8. Time

**The Time Has Come.**

We were separated into groups to guard different areas of the castle. The place was so huge that the task felt impossible, but we were going to give it a try or die fighting. Now wasn't that a cheery thought? Andrew was held back in the Great Hall to see to any injured along with Pomfrey (once she returned from sending off the underaged students). I was being sent off with a group of students I didn't really know. I had taken the time to give Andrew a hug before I joined them. Who knew if I'd see my brother again? I said, "Tell Mom and Dad that I love them."

"You'll tell them yourself when this is all over," Andrew countered.

"Yeah, okay." I held on tighter for a moment and pulled away, "I love you, Drew."

"Love you, too." Andrew gave me a grin and I waved as I moved away.

I was scared out of my mind, but I didn't have time to think about that. I needed to get to my post ASAP. I went to catch up with my group when I saw him, "Neville!"

Neville turned and looked around for whoever called out to him. When his eyes landed on me running towards him he smiled and opened his arms wide. I didn't hesitate. I didn't care who saw us. I leapt into his arms, burrowed into him, held on tight and breathed him in. Neville held on just as tightly, his face pressing into my neck, "Andi."

He said my name so reverently that I shivered. Neville pulled back in order to search my face, for what I didn't know. It was like he was memorizing my features as if he wasn't going to see me ever again. That scared me too. I cupped his face and said, "I wanted to…" What did I want? "I don't know! I just…" Neville cut off my words when he kissed me. I didn't hold back; I pressed closer to him, kissing him as if I'd never do that again. When we broke apart, all I could manage was to ask him to, "Please be safe."

"You too. I want you to meet Gran. She'd like you." Neville kissed my forehead and ran to catch up with Professor Sprout. I didn't know what part of the castle they were guarding. I watched him jog away, but he didn't look back.

"Chambers!" I turned and saw my group wasn't waiting for me as they headed up the marble stairs. I think the girl that was calling for me was named Hannah Abbott. I knew she was a Hufflepuff because she had her school uniform on. I thought that was odd. Many of the students were wearing their uniforms while I was sporting my yoga clothes. I left my school robe with Andrew. It was just in my way.

"Sorry!" I called out while I ran to join them. Thankfully I was a runner by choice, so it didn't take me long to catch up with them.

Along with us three students were two graduates; a tall redheaded guy and a shorter dreadlocked guy that were cracking jokes. It was probably to keep us from falling apart from the fear of what was to come. They acted like it was just a walk in the park, not possibly the last moments of our lives. That struck me as amusing and it sounded like something Andrew would do. So I wagered, "You two must have been brash Gryffindors in your time."

"That's right." The redhead said with a huge grin, "Fred Weasley at your service; this is my best mate Lee Jordan."

"Andrea Chambers." Weasley… why did that name sound familiar? Well even if the name didn't ring a bell, his looks certainly did. I said, "I think I know your sister."

"Ginny?"

"That's the one."

"She's the only one. Seven kids in the family and only one girl." I stared at him in shock. I mouthed 'Seven?' Holy crap. Fred elaborated, "Yup, she's the princess."

"That explains a lot actually." Ginny was just girly enough to be a princess, but still all tomboy. Then it hit me, "Wait, Weasley? You're the U-No-Poo!"

That had both Fred and Lee laughing. Lee asked, "You've been to the shop?"

We made it to a nook of sorts. There was an empty plinth that once held a suit of armor. Fred was busy opening up what looked to be a hidden area and I shook my head, "No. We wanted to but we got here in January, by then the store was closed. We saw the signs in the window. It was funny even if I didn't know who the big scary You-Know-Who was."

Lee peered at me in curiosity, "Noticed the accent. Where you from then?"

Hannah spoke up and answered for me, "She's a yank."

"If that means I'm American, then… sure." I shrugged and the building shook. I stared at the ceiling as I asked it, "Has it been an hour?"

"No," said a voice behind me and I looked at him. I didn't know his name, but I recognized him from Arithmancy. I didn't respond verbally. I just nodded.

"Alright, we take up position here." Fred pointed at the wall he had just exposed where several arrow loops stood. No wonder the castle was so cold in the winter.

We stood two to an arrow loop and I got my first look outside. I wished I hadn't. It was dark and gloomy, but with every shake of the castle the sky lit up with magic. That's when you could see the sea of shapes standing outside the perimeter and the rigid clay statues waiting for them to breach the school's grounds. I wasn't sure who said it, but a voice nearby whispered, "They're trying to take down the wards."

"Good night for it," Fred shouted and I looked at him in confusion. Good night for what? Everyone had been so subdued and suddenly he's shouting. Only he wasn't looking outside or at us, he was looking at someone passing us by in the hall behind us.

'Agrid was walking past with a jogging Harry and a panting dog at his side. I imagined the dog belonged to the half-giant seeing how the beast was huge. Harry just gave a wave and kept moving. The castle shook again. I looked back out the arrow loop. I could see the wards cracking. I gripped my wand tighter in one hand and my other went to the medicinal pouch out of reflex.

"Bet you're wishing you stayed across the pond," Hannah said beside me.

I didn't even look her way when I stated, "We didn't have a choice. The Major said the move was mandatory. Andrew and I wanted to stay in Salem to graduate with our friends."

"Do your parents know?"

"About the war… yes, about this attack… not yet." The castle rocked and I took a calming breath. I needed to focus on spells that would carry to the grounds below.

Hannah's voice was a choked whisper beside me, "It's down."

"Steady," Fred's voice was strong and assured. I took a small comfort from that.

"Fuck me," said a voice on my other side. That comfort Fred gave didn't last when the giants came over the breach. Along with the giants came a swarm of black clad baddies that I guessed would be the Death Eaters.

"What are we up against? People don't talk much about those Death Eaters." I proclaimed because I needed to think. I needed clarity and I suddenly really had to pee… or it was just nerves.

Lee huffed out a breath before he started, "Dark magic mostly. They're men and women that are twisted in their beliefs. They don't back down, they don't care who they hurt. They take pleasure in causing pain."

"So… the Carrows," I summarized.

"Exactly," confirmed Hannah.

The giants were making quick work of the statue guards, but those stone warriors put up a fight and took down at least two of them. What I found fascinating was the Death Eaters. There were so many that had no sense of self-preservation! They ran forward as if to battle the stone warriors along with the giants only to dodge the large clubs coming their way. The giants didn't seem to care what they smashed or who was in their way killing many of their own fighters.

Nothing was getting close to us yet so Hannah looked at me asking, "What happened with the Carrows anyway?"

I grinned at her and explained, "Andrew put them both in a magically induced sleep. Then McGonagall strung them up from the Ravenclaw tower's ceiling in shimmering rope nets and left them dangling there!"

She laughed, "Nice!"

The building shook again and we both looked out the arrow loop. Things were getting too close for comfort. I could hear the others start casting, calling out all sorts of spells. Some of them I had never heard of before. I focused from my spot at the arrow loop and began protecting the castle as best I could. I shot any spell I could think of: destructive, impairing and painful.

* * *

I was alone in the battlement. Well that wasn't entirely true. The Hufflepuff boy from my arithmancy class was there. Unfortunately he wasn't breathing. I wasn't entirely sure where the others went or when exactly they left. I vaguely recalled Fred shouting. I also remembered Hannah screaming… that recollection was also a bit fuzzy.

The little cubby area we had been standing at was hit by a random spell. We saw it coming and scattered as best we could. That was the last clear memory I had. I did a quick medical scan and stared blankly at the results. My mind felt so muddled I wasn't sure what I was reading. I gave up and plucked up my medicinal pouch, fished out a healing potion and drank it down. If nothing else, my mind began clearing and I took in my surroundings.

The castle had taken a beating. The walls and windows were either cracked or broken. The floor was littered with glass, dust and stone. It was also littered with bodies, two of them. The Death Eaters apparently had made it inside the castle because one of the bodies was an adult dressed in a black robe and a silvery mask. I shivered at the sight. Creepy.

I was surprised to see Harry run past again, only that time coming from the opposite direction. He was muttering along with two of his friends. One was definitely a Weasley because he looked a lot like Fred… but not entirely. Harry stopped when he spotted me, "Chambers, right?"

Still gaining my bearings I nodded. The brunette girl stepped closer, "Are you okay?"

"Better. My head isn't as fuzzy any more. Are you guys okay?" They didn't look okay. They looked… smudged. Something must have been wrong with my vision.

"Still have your bag of potions?" Harry asked and when I nodded again, he requested, "Mind if I have another of those pain elixirs?"

"Sure," I agreed and moved towards them as I pulled another vial for him. I saw the green potion for Snape and I frowned at it. I wondered if he'd ever call for it. Ignoring that thought, I handed the proper vial to Harry. "You shouldn't take it too soon after the other one. Just like No-Maj drugs, taking doses too close together can cause dependencies. Has it been four hours yet?"

Harry did a quick tempo and floating numbers shown immediately. I staggered, "When… shit… I've been…" I had lost over an hour's time somehow. I just hoped I hadn't missed Snape's summons. I tore my gaze from the fading time, looked back at Harry and said, "Sorry, give it an hour and you can take it. Okay?"

"Got it, thanks!" Harry turned to his friends and said, "Come on. We have to go."

And just like that… I was alone again. I could hear the fighting outside or was that inside, but just on the other side of the castle? Either way… I didn't like being alone. Since I had nowhere in particular to go, I followed the trio down the marble stairs that I noticed weren't moving for once. They had apparently come across Fred and what had to be another Weasley (were all seven of the kids there?) fighting against a Death Eater. Or maybe it had been two since I could see one down and a small… I peered at the odd spindly shaped… thing.

Fred was laughing, "You're joking, Perce!"

That's when things went FUBAR. The outer wall exploded. Harry and his two friends went flying backwards from the blast. Perce and Fred did too, but in a different direction. I was too far away to be impacted, but it all happened so fast I only managed to shout, "Protego Maxima!"

I willed the damnable thing to hold the wall back and away from the brothers. The brunette was the first to get to her feet, "Fred, Percy!" I felt my tears falling, it hurt to hold the shield: I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't look away or it would crumble and fade.

The other Weasley brother was up next, scrambling to the others. Harry was last and I was fading fast. Thankfully the brunette realized what I was doing and yelled, "Harry! Help her! Ron get over here."

Harry shook his head as if to clear it, looked at me and then to his friends, "Protego Maxima!"

I gasped when I felt his shield push mine back and my legs gave out on me. I collapsed to the floor. "I'm sorry," I gasped out, "I'm sorry…" It was all I could say. I couldn't protect them. I tried. I just wasn't strong enough. I finally muttered, "Tuppy? Winky?"

A sudden pop-pop sounded announcing the arrival of both house elves. Tuppy looked at me sadly as Winky wiped away my tears, "Winky is here Miss."

I pointed to the brothers, "Can you take them to Andrew?"

Tuppy put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I's can."

Winky nodded, "Winky helps."

"Oh and there's a boy up there. There's no hurry getting him to safety… but it isn't right to just leave him up there all alone. Thanks," I watched as the two house elves popped them away.

Ron was enraged, turned and ran forward. The brunette had to hold Ron back. He was angry at me when he shouted, "Where did they take them?"

"The Great Hall," I said immediately. Once his two friends were out of the dangerous area and the two brothers were taken away, Harry let his shield go. There was a loud crash as the wall fell completely. I flinched at the sound. The three just looked at me as if I'd spoken a foreign language so I explained, "Pomfrey and Andrew are set up down there instead of the hospital in order to heal anyone that needs help."

Upon hearing my words Ron calmed… slightly. He quickly turned and ran down the stairs with the girl following him. Harry nodded at me, "That was good thinking calling the house elves like that."

"Tuppy and Winky have been helping out. Winky has been bringing food for those in hiding while Tuppy has been getting us potions to help those who were beaten or tortured. That was before I started carrying potions around with me." I gestured to my medicinal pouch, wiped my tears and tried to stand. I wobbled gracelessly. Harry helped me gain my balance, "Thanks."

"Not to be rude, but I have to go."

"Okay," Then I had a thought, "Hey! Any luck with the diadem?"

Harry grinned, "Yeah. It's taken care of."

I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but he appeared glad about the results… so I just nodded and repeated, "Okay."

I was alone again. It was becoming a frightening trend. I didn't think being alone was such a good idea when there were Death Eaters attacking, the Dark Dude somewhere nearby and giants rampaging. There was no telling what else could be out there. I shuddered and started moving down the stairs again. If nothing else, I knew Andrew was down there. Maybe I could be of some help with the injured.

There came a loud rumbling from behind me. I whipped around, wand pointed ahead of me and I squeaked out an odd noise of surprise as I pressed my body against the nearest wall in order not to be trampled.

McGonagall was holding her wand in one hand, hitching up her skirt in the other running behind the stampeding herd of desks. It was a sight to behold when the woman called out, "Charge!"

I didn't hide the grin on my face. I couldn't help it. McGonagall was impressive with her transfiguration. Unfortunately the smile didn't last as a doe approached me. The patronus stopped when she reached me and spoke in Snape's deep voice, "The time has come. Go to the boathouse. Bring the antidote."

The boathouse… the boathouse? I didn't know where that was. I ran down the stairs following in the wake of the galloping furniture. Antidote… the green liquid in the vial was an antidote. Snape thought he'd need an antidote to a poison. How odd that he could possibly know that he'd need that specific antidote. Then again, Snape was a Death Eater and was privy to knowledge others wouldn't be.

When I made it to the next landing, I nearly slipped and fell in some… I had no idea what it was. If I had to guess I would say it was 'goo'. Yes, that was my technical opinion of the green slime. I didn't know a ghost could touch things. I looked up at the squat, cackling ghost. A poltergeist! They could move things. That explained his abilities and mischievous nature. The poltergeist was dropping things on the Death Eaters that looked suspiciously like snargaluff pods.

As I made it to the next landing I was met with yet another surprising sight. Malfoy Jr. was groaning, holding his jaw while practically lying on top of a downed Death Eater. I remembered what Ginny had said about him being a Death Eater, so I shook my head to clear any thought of helping him (completely ignoring the fact that I was running to help another known Death Eater) and dashed down to the Entrance Hall.

Fred was there. He was just walking out of the Great Hall. Fred. Was walking! My heart leapt at the sight of him, "Fred!" I ran to him and hugged him tightly. "I thought you died!"

"Hold on," He said without letting go of his hold on me, "I'm not Fred. I'm George."

"Oh!" I pulled away immediately and blushed, "Sorry."

"I'm not," George shrugged. I peered at him. They were identical… except now that I was face to face with him, I saw he was missing an ear. Well I bet that had been some adventure and made a helluva story. "It's not every day I'm pounced on by a cute bird. How do you know my brother?"

"I just met Fred before the fighting started. I didn't realize he was a twin too… he just said there were seven of you… and he was hurt… him and Percy… and then there you were… so I thought…" I glanced behind him at the rows of cots and back to him, "Are they okay?"

"Are you Andi?"

"Yes," I said hesitantly because his brows furrowed when he asked. Damn. Did they not make it? They were hurt pretty badly. "George?"

"It's bad." George's frown deepened and he glanced behind him, "Fred will be okay. They're still working on Percy."

"I'm sorry," and I was. I also needed to get to the boathouse. "Pomfrey is great and my brother is no slouch. Um…"

"Yeah?" He asked and I hesitated, "Anything I can do to help the girl who saved two of my brothers, I will."

So I blurted it out, "I need to get to the boathouse."

He blinked at my comment, yet didn't question me, saying, "There are four ways to the boathouse: the path outside the Paved Courtyard, the stairs down from the Viaduct Courtyard, the Great Lake," George then pointed towards a portrait that hung on the wall stuffed with folks from other portraits trying to see the ongoing activities, "and Percival Pratt. He hides a short-cut. Not many folks know about that one."

"You're awesome!" I hugged him again in my relief and moved to the portrait. The group in the frame all shuffled around so one man was in front of all the others. "Hi, I really need to get down to the boathouse."

"Normally I require a password," I smiled brightly at him using my cheerleader face, all butterflies and rainbows, "but seeing how urgent you seem to want to go…" and he grinned back, "Just promise to be careful down there."

"Thank you!" I chirped. Worked like a charm every time… except with my family. They were immune to my girly ways.

I was making my way down the steps through the secret tunnel, double time and watching my feet move in order to keep from falling head over ass down them. I had my wand lit as I went and suddenly… I was there. I heard Harry saying, "Give me something! Quickly! A flask… anything…"

I burst through the barrier and saw the brunette begin a conjuring spell and I said, "I got it." I reached into my moleskin pouch as the two friends stood with wands pointed my way. I didn't have time to explain why I was there so I pushed my way through the two. I told Snape, "Sorry, I'm late. I got here as fast as I could."

"Where did you come from?" Ron asked.

"Hidden passage, George told me about it," I pulled an empty vial from the pouch and magically cleaned it before handing it to Harry. Snape was on the ground bleeding with Harry's hand pressing on the wound. He was about to move his hand away and I snapped, "Don't release the pressure!"

Snape's eyes went to me. I wasn't entirely sure what I saw there, but then he was always hiding his emotions unless he was brewing. The headmaster tried to speak and all he got out was 'came'. I guess he wanted to say something like 'you came' because that was all that made sense to me at the time. "I promised, didn't I?" I pulled out the green liquid and I saw the relief in his eyes. "This first, then we'll see to that wound."

"What are you doing?" The brunette asked.

"1. I don't really know you." I flicked the top off of the vial, "Which leads to 2. I don't answer to you." I poured the contents slowly into his mouth, careful not to cause him to choke or to spit it out, "But I'm feeling generous because you're not trying to stop me."

"Hermione, take this." Harry handed her the vial I had given him moments before only it was now filled with a silvery substance. Hermione? I finally had a name for the brunette. Honestly the names these Ish's came up with. Actually that sounded rather Shakespearean.

Snape closed his eyes when the antidote slid down his throat. I was ignoring the fact that Snape had tears slipping down his cheeks, it rocked me too much. It scared the hell out of me that something brought such a strong man to tears and I refused to fail him. I saw his adam's apple bob and took that as a good sign. "That potion was an antidote that the Headmaster gave me days ago. Now if it's all the same to you, I'm trying to save a man's life.

"Okay Headmaster, I'm going to use that obscure healing spell you taught me because I doubt an episkey can handle all this. Besides, I'm pretty sure that was the sole purpose of teaching it to me to begin with." The dying man's eyes slid open and he looked from Harry to me. There was humor there. I could see the wrinkles forming at the edges. "No laughing at me." I warned Snape. "Your life is literally in my hands right now…

"Tergeo," I began cleaning up the blood as best I could until Snape coughed, "Shit! Harry, move your hand." I said and began chanting while Harry moved out of the way yet still stayed at the man's side, "Vulnera sanentur, vulnera sanentur, vulnera sanentur…"

"Who are you?" Ron demanded. I ignored him as I pulled out another vial, this time a healing potion. "Why are we letting her do this? We don't know her. She could be hurting him!"

"My name is Andrea Chambers, I'm a seventh year Ravenclaw and a potions apprentice." I snapped out, "I will never hurt my mentor. That's just ridiculous." The humor was back in Snape's eyes and, thankfully, a bit of color to his ever pale cheeks. I kept his head tilted as I slowly helped him drink the healing potion and I continued my tirade, "And you do know me. I'm the same person that saved two of your brothers and then sent them to get fixed up with Pomfrey. So if you don't want to be here, you don't need to be. I don't need you here breathing your negative vibes my way." I shifted gears as I dropped the empty vials back into my mokeskin pouch, "Thanks for putting pressure on his wound, Harry. You kept him from bleeding out."

I looked at Ron, "You're still here…" It wasn't a question, but his mouth opened to snap back a response and I cut him off, "George's short cut is right there. It takes you back to the Entrance Hall beside the staircase."

Snape's hand found my wrist and I looked down at him and huffed in frustration at the look of questioning in his eyes. I hesitated before I responded, "I'm just… I hear things… I've only been here for four months and in that time you've been stoic, distant, difficult and just… the best potions master I've ever worked with and when you're brewing you let your guard down… you're pretty funny and sarcastic when we debate.

"Then I hear you're a Death Eater, but I know there's a story behind everything you do so I can't even take that at face value. You have so many layers to what you do and say, it's overwhelming! Like you let the Carrows run discipline and torture students, but at the same time you created quietet nerui so your students don't have to suffer long term."

"Calming nerves?" Hermione asked and I closed my eyes when his grip squeezed tighter.

"I'm sorry…" I looked at Snape, "I know I promised you… I know, but when McGonagall wanted to 'deal' with you I said you were a good guy… then Harry yelled at me because you killed Dumbledore. Everyone thinks you're some evil man, but I know better… you've never done a thing without a reason.

"You knew Winky was making meals for the students in hiding, but you let it happen because at least they were being fed. You let them hide from the Carrows because it kept them safe. You made me learn how to make quietet nerui so that I could carry on making it if you weren't able to." I grabbed a blood replenisher and helped him drink it as I continued my tirade, "The part that bugs me is that I can't tell anyone that you created a potion to counter the cruciatus curse because of the promise I made to you, but if Hermione were to overhear me talking to you about it…" His grip tightened again and I sighed, "Fine. I'll shut up if Ron stops being a hypocrite. He doesn't care if you're hurt. I do."

"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery."

The scary voice was back. I gave another involuntary shiver asking, "That's his name? Really? Flight from Death… what a stupid name and I thought You-Know-Who was bad."

"Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste."

Snape groaned and I winced, "Sorry," I said as I loosened my grip on the back of his neck and gently laid his head back down. His neck wasn't bleeding any longer, the wound looked raw and red. I put the last empty vial in my mokeskin pouch.

Harry's brow furrowed as he stated, "He also likes to hear himself talk."

"He has a creepy voice." I wrinkled my nose.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately."

Hermione piped in with, "He also talks about himself in the third person. Utter arrogance." I grinned at her, but the man wasn't done with his speech.

"You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest." I watched Snape's reaction. I didn't want to look at Harry. He was under enough pressure. Snape's eyes were on Harry. He raised his hand and pointed at the vial that Hermione held. "If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences." Harry silently nodded to the professor, he got the message. Hermione handed him back the vial. "This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

Harry sighed and looked at the vial in his hands. I asked him, "Do you know what that is?"

"Snape's memories," Harry said immediately. "Snape wants me to see them."

"Must be pretty important if a dying man wants you to see them…"

Harry's head snapped up at me, "He's still dying?"

"Eventually… in about a hundred years if he can stay away from…" I looked down at Snape asking him, "What did that to you anyway?"

I didn't expect him to respond, which he didn't other than to raise his eyebrow at me. I grinned at his reaction, but Hermione answered for him, "Nagini did that." When I gave her a blank look, she elaborated, "A very large snake."

I shuddered again, "Ew. Just ew." I looked back to Snape, "Glad I wasn't here to see that!"

"Come on, Harry. Let's take this short cut back." Hermione urged her friend.

Harry blinked as he looked up at her. "Oh… yeah…"

The poor guy. He had a lot riding on his shoulders. I didn't envy him. Ron still looked as if he wanted to strangle me. The jerk. I saved his brothers or at least one for certain. I hoped Percy was okay. Harry looked back at me, "You okay with him?"

"Sure. I'm resourceful…" I watched as the three left through the shortcut and asked, "Tuppy?"

A pop later and the house elf arrived. "Tuppy is…" His words tapered off when he saw the headmaster. The house elf wailed and moved to him immediately, "Master is hurt!"

"Yes, but since there's a nasty war going on around the castle I can't just parade him through it. Is there somewhere safe you can take him? I need you to get him cleaned up and comfortable." Snape's hand gripped around my wrist again to get my attention and I looked down at him. He blinked slowly, "You'll be okay, but I can't leave you on a cold floor and it's damp in here." His grip tightened and then he let go.

"Tuppy knows a place."

"I still say you're the best, Tuppy."

The house elf grinned at me and popped away with the headmaster. I sat alone… _again_ … this time in the boathouse. I sighed and moved. One hour wasn't long and I was sure they'd need help with the wounded.

* * *

 **AN:** Okay so I mixed a bit of the movie into this because Andrea finding her way into the Shrieking Shack wasn't going to work.

Yes, yes, vulnera sanentur is for Snape's icky Sectumsempra, but it comes in handy so I have used it often in stories *points to A Potter and The Vanquisher whispering 'Harry really does sing'*.


	9. Breathe

**She Can't Breathe**

I made it out from behind the portrait and was surprised to see the Entrance Hall filled with people walking through carrying or helping others into the Great Hall. Apparently there were a lot more fighting on our side that I hadn't noticed earlier, not that I had made a point of counting heads. I slipped around individuals and made my way into the Great Hall. I was hoping to find Andrew. After having dealt with almost losing Snape, I really needed to see him, hug him, to just know that he was alright.

There was an area along the right wall that had rows of cots; each one appeared to be occupied. Along the opposite wall was a different type of row of bodies. I looked at the line of slain people lying side by side and stopped in my tracks when I recognized the werewolf.

My heart broke for him as he cried over a dead woman. Her limp hand was in his bigger hands as he held it to his cheek, rocking back and forth as he mourned silently. I didn't know who the woman was, but she was obviously very important to him. I didn't mean to disturb him, but he looked up at me when I moved closer. Recognition lit his eyes and I bit my lip before saying, "I'm sorry for your loss."

He tried to smile, but failed miserably, before he said, "I never got your name."

"I think Madam Pomfrey did that on purpose. I'm Andrea Chambers…" I said. When I crouched beside him I noted how peaceful the woman looked. That was one thing about a killing curse victim, they looked as if they were sleeping. I told him, "She's very pretty."

"My wife," His voice hitched and my heart broke all over again. The man introduced her, "This is Nymphadora…" He choked out a bark of a laugh, "She hated her name."

I nodded in understanding, "I can relate with that, it's why most people call me Andi."

"My mother-in-law is Andromeda. She too goes by Andi." He mentioned before he came back on track saying, "I'm Remus Lupin. My wife preferred to be called Tonks before we were married. Once she became a Lupin, she went with Dora…" His voice cracked, "We have a son, Teddy." He used his free hand to pull a photograph from his pocket and showed it to me.

The snapshot showed a woman - Dora with pink hair - holding a gurgling baby boy, who couldn't be more than 4 months old. Dora was grinning and cooing while Teddy was busy chewing happily on his toes. "He's so cute!" I blinked when the boy's hair turned blue, "he's a… a…" I stumbled over my words because I could not remember what they were called for the life of me. They were so rare that I had only heard the name once… ever.

"Teddy is a metamorphmagus like his mum."

Metamorphmagus, right… wow… "That's an awesome talent to have." I held the picture out to him and had an overwhelming urge to hug the man. I didn't know him, but he had just lost his wife. My heart was breaking for him only there was no way he'd want platitudes from a stranger. Still I said, "I realize it's probably no consolation to hear this, especially from someone you've only known for a handful of hours, but your son is lucky to have at least one parent still around. You get to tell him how great his mom was."

Remus took the photo and looked at his family. He was quiet for a while as he ran a dirty finger over the image of his wife before he nodded and mumbled, "Thanks."

I squeezed his shoulder in a show of moral support and muttered half to Remus half to myself, because really I wasn't sure he was even listening to me anymore, "There are so many people in here. I was hoping to find my brother."

He looked up at me and asked, "Is your brother the young man that was helping Poppy in the hospital ward?"

I blinked at him… Poppy? "I um… yes, Andrew works in the hospital ward with Madam Pomfrey…"

Remus nodded, "I last saw him over there." He pointed in a vague catty corner direction.

"Thanks," I grinned. Poppy? Now that was a cute name. I didn't expect such a stoic woman to have such a whimsical name.

So many people were sitting around: catching their breath, recuperating, talking softly and drinking tea. Tea… the people were dirty, bloody and ragged, but they sat with porcelain cups and saucers drinking tea. Ishes were so odd.

Neville was standing beside McGonagall and an elderly woman. I wondered if that was his grandmother. I smiled his way, but he wasn't looking my direction. I didn't mind that he didn't see me. I was smiling because I was just so happy that Neville was still standing strong and didn't look too hurt.

As much as I wanted to go over and hug Neville (and kiss and hold and perhaps a few other unmentionable things), I really wanted to find my brother. So I kept moving in the vague direction that Remus had pointed me in. I was weaving between people and came to a stop when I saw a sea of redheads around a cot. I recognized Ginny and the twins. Their mother was weeping. Percy…

Okay I didn't know the guy, I didn't really know anyone in the family except Ginny, but that didn't mean my heart wasn't breaking for all of them too.

Ginny looked up and caught sight of me. Hard not to when I was just standing there staring numbly at her mother. How embarrassing. I gave a feeble wave of my fingers and meant to move on. I really didn't mean to interrupt their mourning. Only Ginny did something very unexpected for someone who had just lost a brother. The girl jumped up and smiled at me before calling out my name, "Andi!"

I smiled back feeling a bit out of sorts. Her mother was crying, but Ginny was smiling at me. The two didn't add up. I didn't know what to say except, "Hi."

The redhead bounced over to me and glomped me. I let out an involuntary 'oof' and hugged her back. This was so weird! "Thank you," Ginny sounded so breathless and… happy. Maybe I was wrong about Percy being dead. They weren't on the body side, but not really on the cot side… the family were at the back of the room hovering in the middle. Besides, I had been wrong about George being Fred and let's not forget that I was human so that meant I made mistakes… occasionally…

"You're welcome," I responded automatically even if I wasn't sure what I was being thanked for. A set of strong arms wrapped around us and I squeaked in surprise because soon a second set of strong arms joined us. I managed to look up… mostly… from the mass of arms around us and noted it was both Fred and George. "Fred, you're okay!"

I disentangled myself from all the freckled arms - which took some doing because they weren't keen on letting me go - and hugged Fred tightly, "I was so worried about you."

George joined the hug again and I giggled at their silly antics. "Thanks, Andi." The guys said in unison and I giggled again. Fred grinned hugely and - while wiggling his eyebrows - told George, "Make her laugh again. I rather like the way she wiggles…"

That was wrong in so many ways… even if it was funny, but I had to get out of the situation I had just found myself in. "Oooookay and that's enough of that." I pulled myself out of their embrace - which they were generous enough to let me slip away easier than the last time - as they both gave me identical mischievous grins. I wrinkled my nose at the silly boys and asked Ginny, "Have you seen Andrew?"

"He's outside," Ginny gestured towards the open doors. "Pomfrey asked him to see if there were any injured that couldn't make it inside on their own."

"Oh," was all I managed to say. Andrew was outside. In the dark. That caused me to shudder. I looked towards the door and wondered if I dared to go out there on my own to find him. I was tired of being alone, regardless of how much I wanted to be sure Andrew was okay.

"Mum, I'm going with Andi to find her brother and to help with anyone that is hurt."

I felt relief at her words and warmth of gratitude that filled me, but still… I didn't want to take her from her family, even while I wanted desperately to find mine. So I had to ask, "Are you sure?"

Mrs. Weasley looked up when Ginny spoke to her. With tears still wet on her cheeks, the woman was up in one fluid movement and stalking over to us. My first thought was that she was another Ron and about to lay into me for something, but when she got to us Mrs. Weasley let out a sob and glomped me. She was hugging me. TIGHT. It was bone crushing and I was suffocating. "Thank you," She said through her tears.

"Welcome," I gasped out.

"Mum, she can't breathe."

"Sorry, dear." Mrs. Weasley said. She released me just as quickly as she hugged me. I wobbled on my feet from the sudden rush of air.

"So does this mean Percy is okay? No one did answer me…"

Mrs. Weasley looked over at the bed where her son still laid and her breath hitched. "We won't know until we can get him to St. Mungo's. They should be transferring him soon. Still there is a chance, which is more than he would have had if you hadn't been there." A strange shift came over her as if she had come to some sort of decision, "You two," the twins jerked to attention and I bit my lip not to laugh at them. "Go with the girls. Make sure they're safe."

"Sure, Mum." Was Fred's response as George replied with a, "No problem."

"Lead the way," George said and I grinned.

I was going to find my brother and I wasn't going alone. I had been feeling overwhelmed and even standing surrounded by the Weasley family I felt isolated. This meant that I now had a problem… I couldn't help it. I felt tears trying to break through and I refused to cry in front of anyone. So with that thought plaguing my mind, I thanked Mrs. Weasley, turned and started for the door. Ginny was beside me and the boys flanked us. It was… weird and… nice. I felt almost safe, but I didn't think I'd truly feel safe until Andrew and I were back with our parents.

It was still dark outside. I could see blue flames scattered around here and there giving off some light in the early morning hours. They seemed randomly placed. That was until we walked past a few. That was when I realized the blue flames signified a dead body was there awaiting removal. I shied away from the flames after that.

There was a dark disfigured form walking towards us. I slowed my pace as my heart began to pound a fast staccato in my chest. U-No-Poo said he called his Death Eaters and forces back for an hour, but what if some of them didn't listen? I flicked my wrist and gripped my wand, but Fred put a hand on my shoulder as he called out, "Oi, Wood."

"Oi," the tall figure said in return.

"That's Oliver Wood, he was the best Gryffindor keeper," Fred explained. "Oliver, this here is Andi, a transfer from the US." I relaxed putting my wand away and nodded a greeting just like Oliver did, but I tensed again when I noted a small body slung over his shoulder fireman's style which also explained the odd hunched shadow he made.

George asked, "Who you got there?"

"Colin Creevy," Oliver said before he sighed, "Lad should 'ave gone home with the others." He then looked at Ginny, "Just like you, lass. You stay close to yer mum when the fighting starts again."

I watched Ginny nod sadly as her eyes followed Oliver's journey into the castle. I didn't get a good look at young Colin. Not that I was trying. I wasn't eager to look at any more death if I could help it. I looked around and couldn't see anyone else out there. I started to panic, "I don't see him."

"Homenum Revelio," Fred chanted the spell beside me. I looked at him expectantly and he pointed off towards our left. "There are a few warm bodies that way and one," Fred pointed in the opposite direction, "that way."

"We'll split up," George offered. I felt panic grip me. They were abandoning me. I was going to be alone again. I swallowed hard and nodded slowly. I couldn't force them to stay with me. I was nothing to them. "Ginny and me will go to the one on the right," He pointed in the other direction just as his twin had, "Fred, you take Andi that way. Odds are in your favor if you go that way, but if someone is hurt over there, we should help them."

I looked to Fred, "You're coming with me?"

Fred's grin was immediate, "Of course."

George reminded me, "Mum would have our hides,"

"If we let anything happen to you," Fred finished.

"By saving her boys," George piped in.

"You're an honorary Weasley in our eyes," Fred concluded.

I giggled at them. "So there are other differences with identical twins versus fraternal twins like me and Andrew. We don't do that," I pointed from one twin to the other, "volley speak."

Fred and George's attitudes changed instantly. They both stepped closer to me, book ending me between them, their demeanor was intense. Ginny blinked at me asking, "You're a twin?"

I nodded slowly in my confusion. After all, I had mentioned that I was a twin in passing to George, but he apparently had missed that. George put a hand on my shoulder while Fred took a firm hold of my arm saying, "We'll find him."

I nodded quicker that time, agreeing fully, because the alternative was simply unacceptable and something I refused to think on. They finally understood my desperation to find my brother. These were twins so of course they understood the deep seeded need to ensure their other half was okay. George gave my shoulder a squeeze, "He'll be fine. We'll meet you back inside."

After that we broke from our huddle and went our separate ways. I let Fred lead since I wasn't entirely sure where he had seen the outlines of warm bodies. We must have walked for a good five minutes before I saw a crouched form. I gripped my wand as did Fred. Apparently he didn't recognize that person. I called out in a loud whisper… sort of, "Andrew?"

The shadowy form jerked at the sudden noise and rose quickly calling back loudly, "Andi?"

I knew that voice anywhere. I gasped and ran to him. "Drew!" I had to hop over a few broken statues and bits of the castle, but we met in a crash of bodies. I hugged him tightly and he held on tighter than he had ever done before. I cried. I knew that was such a girly thing to do, but I was so relieved to have my brother back that I didn't care.

"I was so worried. You didn't come to the Great Hall with everyone else. No one seemed to know where you were. That's why I was so quick to agree to come out here. Fuck, Andi, I thought you were out here hurt or dead."

"I was at the boathouse when the Dark Dude started the cease fire intermission." I pulled away to look into his eyes, "You're okay, right? I haven't done much fighting really. I threw a few spells from an arrow loop, but other than that-"

"She's been busy coming back from the dead and saving lives instead." Fred interjected.

Andrew looked startled, "What?"

"What?" I repeated.

Fred elaborated, "Okay, you weren't dead, but you were knocked out when the wall exploded. A simple rennervate didn't wake you. So we moved you aside where nothing could reach you and we'd come back for you. We were busy fighting acromantulas and then Death Eaters showed. Sorry, but we didn't have time to bring you down to the Great Hall."

"You didn't think to call for a house elf?" Andrew asked, his voice was clipped and I put a hand on his arm to calm him.

"No," Fred shrugged, "Thought never entered my mind really, not to mention that for all the times I've been in the kitchen I didn't know any of their names."

Andrew peered at him as if he just recognized him, "You seem to be doing better."

"Thanks to you the ringing in my ears let up," Fred grinned. "But it's thanks to your sister I'm alive at all."

"Anyway," I wrinkled my nose at Fred, which just made his grin bigger, before I continued with, "Did you find anyone out here that you need to help?"

"Shit, I forgot," Andrew exclaimed and went back to the person he had abandoned when I called out his name.

"Homenum Revelio," I said and looked around curiously. Nearby I saw Andrew and one more warm body… I blinked as a small form popped in and then out leaving just my brother. I then looked over in the direction that Ginny had gone with George and tilted my head as I recounted the highlighted forms.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked as he too turned in that direction. There was an edge to his voice and his wand was rising as if preparing to defend his siblings.

I touched his arm and pressed down gently to ward off any friendly fire. I then told him what had me puzzled, "There's just more people over there than I thought there would be. Ginny, George and the one they went to help. Those three I expected, but there are two more now. One at the blue flames," I pointed in that direction, "and the other is moving that way." I pointed again.

"Bugger," Fred sighed heavily, "I'd bet my last knut it's Harry."

"That's what I thought too." I stated especially since the form was moving towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Considering what we all heard You-Know-Who claim, I'd say he's gone off to face him alone so no one else will die." Fred ran his thumb along his jaw, "Harry always complained that he didn't want people dying because of him." His hand dropped and he watched my brother make his way back to us as he continued, "Harry never understood that we believed in him and are determined to fight for our own freedom… not just for him, but for everyone."

"Come on," Andrew was back at my side and nodded towards the castle. "We don't want to be out here when that hour deadline is up. Harry or no Harry, that insane asshat will be back at it. People like him don't give up or forgive easily no matter what they claim."

On our way back to the castle, Fred and Andrew grabbed a slain body of a man to bring him into the castle with the others. I extinguished the blue flames and followed them.

"Are we going to tell anyone about Harry?" I asked their retreating backs.

"No," Fred said immediately. "Ginny is convinced she's in love with the bloke, the rest of them worship him. If we tell anyone about his actions, they'd run after him and get killed too. Besides, we don't know for certain that it was him."

I couldn't argue with Fred's logic, except that I was pretty certain that was Harry. I wondered if the memories Snape had given Harry had anything to do with him taking that journey to face the evil, narcissistic, mad man. By the time we made it to the castle doors, we were met by the others. Ginny was walking beside Neville and George as they carried yet another body indoors.

Ginny and I waited as the boys entered first. By the time we followed into the Great Hall, Ginny had slipped her hand in my arm like she did the last time we walked together. The red head gave my arm a squeeze and told me in a conspiratorial tone, "Nev asked about you. You should go let him see you're alive and okay. I'm going to see if they got Percy out of here yet."

"Okay," I readily agreed. I didn't mind that arrangement at all. Not just because I wanted to talk to Neville, but because I really appreciated the Weasley siblings for taking the time to help me.

I followed the twins, my twin and Neville into the Great Hall along the left side of the room. I waited patiently as they laid the bodies side by side with the others. The four boys looked my way. Neville gave me a dimpled smile, which I returned. He swept me up in his arms and I sighed happily.

Andrew pointed over towards the cots, "I'm going back to see what still needs to be done." I nodded my understanding, but he wasn't done. "You stay with Longbottom or me. No more wandering off."

Neville's grip loosened so he could look at my brother in surprise. That's not saying that Neville let go of his hold on me. I was pressed into him, my front was snug against his side and his arm was around my waist quite possessively. I liked where I was at, so I laid my head on his shoulder. It felt good to be held by him. Neville admitted, "I like the sound of that."

I giggled at Neville and agreed with Andrew's command because I liked the sound of it too, "Okay."

"I'm jealous," Fred teased as Andrew walked away. "Andi wriggles right nicely when she giggles all pressed up against you like that."

"Fred!" I hissed. The last thing I needed was a jealous… hmm, Neville wasn't really my boyfriend yet, but possibly could be because I wasn't entirely sure what we were since all he said was he wanted to get to know me better… properly.

"I rather like it myself," Neville agreed. Hmm, so not the jealous type or he knew the twins well enough not to listen to what they said. Either way I blushed. Neville held me tighter when he saw that. He then grinned at the twins, "You two okay, then?"

"Yup," George answered, "Talk to you two later. Say goodbye, Fred."

"Goodbye, Fred," Fred said with a wave.

I giggled again and gave a wave back to them, "Thanks, guys."

Fred and George took their leave saying their good-byes and reminding me that I was an honorary part of the Weasley crew. Then the twins went so far as to threaten Neville with typical big brother nonsense about not hurting their latest addition to the family. I giggled again. I couldn't help it. They were being silly. Besides it was nice to feel relaxed enough to find humor in anything.

"I want to introduce you to Gran." Neville said to me.

"So that is her." I said with a smile.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw you talking with McGonagall and another woman."

"And you didn't stop to say hello?" Neville teased me. I really liked this playful side of his. Neville looked in the direction of where his grandmother had been standing, "Yes, that's Gran. I had no idea she was here until the break in fighting." Then he tilted his head as he looked at me, "You don't mind meeting her… do you?"

"Nope," I grinned at him giving him both dimples, "Providing she doesn't get offended that I'm filthy from all this war stuff."

Neville went to take my hand, but when he did he didn't move. He only looked at the dried blood, "Not yours…"

"No," I didn't elaborate because I knew he wasn't a huge fan of the headmaster, so I felt it would be smarter to keep quiet about just who's blood it was.

He didn't question me, "Just making sure."

Neville started leading me to his grandmother. I smirked at him, "You don't think Andrew would let me walk around injured, do you?"

"No," Neville admitted, "But I wasn't taking any chances either."

"You're sweet." I walked closer to him, our shoulders touching, until we came to a stop.

The elderly slender woman sat with a red handbag on her lap and a dainty porcelain cup in one hand, a matching saucer with a cookie in the other as if there was no war going on and she was just out to tea with friends. She was seated with Mrs. Weasley on one side and McGonagall on her other. She had been speaking with Mrs. Weasley - or more accurately tolerating the woman talking her ear off - when we got to her. The older woman was so calm when she looked up at us you'd have thought it was just any random day. That was impressive.

His Gran asked, "What have we here, Neville?"

Neville slipped his hand from mine and pressed it to my lower back as he did the introductions, "Gran, I'd like to introduce Andrea Chambers… my girlfriend." I smiled at that… a full double dimpled smile. Mrs. Weasley smiled and pressed a hand to her chest, McGonagall's lips twitched and Neville's Gran raised an eyebrow. He wasn't done with the introductions of course, "Andi, this is my grandmother, Dowager Augusta Longbottom."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am." I said and hesitated not willing to extend my hand to her since both of hers were full.

The woman frowned at me, "I don't recognize your surname or your accent."

Before I could say a thing, Mrs. Weasley leaned in conspiratorially, "She's an American, that one. Smart and brave. Should have been a Gryffindor, but I hear she's a Ravenclaw. She saved Fred and… had brought Percy here for treatment."

"And you think to take my Neville across the pond?"

"I… what?" Pond? What pond?

"Gran…"

"If she's your girlfriend, I need to know if you're thinking you'll move away and-"

"Harry Potter is dead." That got everyone's attention. As much as I appreciated having the attention off of me, that wasn't good news. We all immediately looked towards the castle's doors. Many of the people were crying at the news. I shuddered and wondered if I should have tried to stop Harry when we had the chance. Neville's grip on me tightened. "He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone."

The entire hall exploded with jeers. Not one of them believed U-No-Poo. Of course the egomaniac wasn't done speaking, "The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy-Who-Lived is finished."

I looked at Neville and he had his eyes closed tightly, his jaw was working as if he were trying to keep himself from yelling, raging or crying. I wasn't sure which. I touched his face and his eyes flew open. He looked at me and he looked so lost. I wanted to kiss away the pain, hold him until he was no longer hurting.

"There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

"You know he's lying, right?" I asked him.

Neville held my hand to his cheek and gave me a crooked grin, "Yeah," he agreed, "Harry didn't run away. Even if he's dead, it's because he was doing something foolish and brave to save us all."

"Well that too, but I mean he won't forgive anyone. He is going to kill us all even if we just give in."

His eyes closed. Neville nodded, pressed his forehead to mine and said, "It's time to end this."

* * *

 **AN:** Almost done. Not sure if I'm relieved or sad to see this end.


	10. Dead

**We Thought Him Dead.**

Everyone in the Great Hall that could walk had made their way out of the castle doors; that was everyone except for Andrew and Pomfrey because they were still helping the injured. Neville was still holding my hand as we stood side by side. All I kept thinking was that this probably wasn't what Andrew had in mind when he told me to stay close to him or Neville.

Neville was the typical Gryffindor: brash and brave. Which is how I found myself alongside him front row center and staring down the big baddies. I didn't belong up front like that. I was no Gryffindor, I was a closet Slytherin and my self-preservation was _screaming_ at me to move to the back of the crowd.

I had never seen U-No-Poo before, not even a photograph of him, and I could honestly say that I would have willingly gone to my grave without having had that privilege. The man - if one could call him that - was beyond creepy. He was bald, sans a nose and paler than anyone I had ever seen before with red eyes. What was really weird though wasn't the huge snake around his neck, it was the fact that the man was barefoot. If I had to guess, I'd wager he had nothing on but that robe. Not that I was volunteering to check his full wardrobe in order to be certain because the mere thought of getting close enough to do that was scary and looking at any more of that man's physique was majorly gross.

That reptile was really something, too. It was freakishly huge. I vaguely remembered Hermione saying its name down at the boathouse, but I didn't think that was remotely important at the moment because all I kept picturing was that huge snake attacking Headmaster Snape. I shuddered at the mental image. That was one scary serpent.

Alongside the Death Eaters stood 'Agrid; chained and magically bound while carrying a dead Harry Potter. Talk about a sad sight. The big guy was blubbering and snuffling while using his sleeve to wipe his face. Several times I thought for sure he was going to drop the body. The entire crowd around me was bemoaning the loss of Harry - whining, crying and screaming - and they weren't very quiet about it. The sheer sorrow of the people was overwhelming, but the creepy no nosed Dark Dude was having none of that, "Silence!"

There was a huge flash of light that accompanied his spell and we had exactly what he demanded of us. Silence. Blessed quiet. It was an eerie lack of sound and I almost missed their loud mourning, but I knew the tranquility wouldn't last since - as Harry had pointed out in the boathouse - Un-No-Poo liked to hear himself talk. The man started in again once he had everyone's attention. The Dark Dude sounded really frustrated when he shouted, "It is over!" His weird slit nostrils flared in annoyance. He calmly said, "Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs."

I blinked at that. All this time I had thought the giant man's name was 'Agrid. Well it wasn't my fault he spoke so poorly. I watched as Hagrid moved; he was carefully handling Harry's body like it was made of porcelain. It was with surprising gentleness that the big man set down his tiny (in comparison) burden. No nose began talking again, but I couldn't focus on what he was saying because I felt Neville step forward. Naturally I tried to keep him still. It took everything I had to try to keep him safely at my side without drawing the big bad's attention to us.

Someone on our side shouted, breaking the silencing spell over us. That meant I had a chance to try and stop him. I held Neville's hand with both of mine and begged him, "Please, Neville, think before you get in his face." I should have known better. It wasn't as if he was ignoring me entirely, it was just that Neville was a Gryffindor through and through.

While the Dark Dude was spouting off more lies, Neville had had enough, "He has to be stopped." He dropped my hand to charge at No nose and had been promptly disarmed. The spell must have hurt because Neville was slow to get up off the ground. I wanted to run after him. I wanted to pull him away from the big bad, but someone held me back. I didn't know who it was, I just knew I couldn't get to him. They were talking. The baddies were taunting my Neville.

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."

"I'll join you when hell freezes over," my Neville cried out. He had finally made it to his feet and stood alone. So brave. So handsome. So damn _stupid_! I could do nothing, but cry. Neville wasn't done being the brave hero. He raised his fist in the air and cried out, "Dumbledore's Army!"

I don't think I ever found him any sexier than he was at that moment. He really was brave and okay not stupid, but definitely brash. I was so proud of him standing there. Standing for what he believed in. Everyone on our side cheered… everyone… including me. I couldn't help it. Neville inspired hope within me and I didn't even care what Dumbledore's Army was.

"Very well," No nose said and I shuddered. His voice wasn't just creepier, it was downright ominous. The man did a few flicks with his wand as he spoke, "If that is your choice. On your head be it."

That did not sound promising. I struggled against the arms holding me back. Neville was held frozen in place and Fred's voice was in my ear trying to calm me down, "Now is not the time to be a Gryffindor, Andi. Neville will be fine."

I was helpless and stupidly I thought things couldn't possibly get worse. A sob tore from my chest, "He's not fine. He's in trouble."

And I wasn't wrong about that. Neville was in trouble. Voldemort was talking again. He put the Sorting Hat on my boyfriend's head and lit it on fire! That was definitely worse! Neville started screaming. Or I did. Or we both did. I wasn't sure who was screaming, but I needed to get to him! Neville was in pain!

That's when all hell broke loose. More people came swarming from seemingly nowhere. Centaurs came from the forest and a giant that kept yelling a war cry of "Hagger!" came along with them. Fred released his hold on me and I ran to Neville casting a quick "Finite!" so he could finally move and get that stupid hat off of his head!

Neville did something I had to stop to watch. He dipped his head so the hat fell into his hands, but instead of letting it drop to the ground he pulled something long and shiny from inside. How he found a sword inside the Sorting Hat I might never know. If that wasn't enough of a bad ass moment, Neville swung the blade and decapitated the snake!

I watched, gaping like a stupid fish, as the snake's head went soaring one way and its body went the opposite direction. I saw No nose scream and my heart froze in my chest. Neville didn't have a wand. He was vulnerable! I immediately casted, "Protego Maxima!"

I can't honestly say what happened. I felt something hit my shield before it shattered. I thought I had failed Neville. I thought he'd go down for certain, but my handsome Ish was still standing proud with a glittering sword that dripped snake blood. As gross as that was, he was damn hawt.

Hagrid was yelling for Harry, which made no sense to me because the guy was dead. I didn't have time to consider why the big guy was hollering because people were on the move. Spells were flying everywhere and I ran to Neville calling out to him, "Nev!"

How he heard me over all of the noise around us I don't know, but Neville turned around and I was back in his embrace again. My arms were wrapped around his neck and I held him to me, "I was so scared for you. Fred wouldn't let me go to you. I'm sorry you were out there all alone!"

"It's okay. Harry asked me to kill the snake, I promised him I'd take care of it if Ron and Hermione couldn't." Neville explained, not that I understood why the snake was so important, but whatever. Neville was safe… kind of. We weren't really safe yet seeing how there were still spells flying every which way. Neville hadn't released his hold on me, but that didn't stop me from shielding us. That apparently prompted him to remember, "I need my wand."

We looked around us futilely, or so I had thought. I was utterly surprised to see a wand just lying on the grass not too far from where No nose had been standing moments before. "Is that yours?"

Neville looked at where I was pointing and grinned, "You must be my good luck charm. I thought I'd lost that for good." He grabbed his wand in one hand, "Come on!" Neville wielded the sword in his other hand and we double timed it back into the castle where everyone else seemed to be heading, including some of the centaurs which I found surprising since Firenze was the only centaur I ever saw that willingly went into a human dwelling.

By the time we made it inside the Great Hall it was pandemonium. It looked like everyone (except the dead and injured) were fighting, even house elves! Tuppy and Winky were right there with them waving carving knives and cleavers and attacking the Death Eaters, stabbing and slicing at their shins and ankles. I don't know how long this lasted, it could have been hours or minutes. There was screaming, crying, shouting and yelling. There were arrows, spells and slashing cutlery.

When there was a break in our fighting (I never killed or help kill a man before. I thought I was going to be violently ill), Neville pressed me against a wall to position me at his back and joined a Weasley (I could say it was Ron, but I wasn't paying him that much attention to him. I was too busy sending shields at Neville and him). They were fighting some hairy, scruffy looking man who I would swear was half beast if his snarl was anything to go by.

Fred, George and Lee took down a Death Eater. Flitwick showed off his dueling skills and took one down on his own. I felt so useless just standing there shielding people. So I decided to find my inner Gryffindor and try to help out more. I looked around at all the fighting and I shuddered at all the spells flying around. One was coming my way and I didn't like the looks of it. It was a sickly green spell - the killing curse - and it made my blood run cold just seeing it. I instinctively knew my shield wouldn't be enough to protect me. I immediately conjured a chair because it was the first thing I could think of. Oddly enough it worked. The curse hit the chair and shattered it along with any thoughts of finding a nonexistent inner Gryffindor.

I slid along the wall behind the cots. I weaved my way through the standing masses and began casting more random shields. I was better with defensive spells and I didn't want to cause any more death. The nightmares I expected for this infraction was bad enough, so I decided to stick with my strengths.

Eventually things were calming down. Those who weren't fighting were on the sides. Watching the last two battles still going on in the middle of the Hall.

There were three students - Ginny, Luna and Hermione - fighting with a wild looking woman. No nose was fighting McGonagall, Slughorn and a bald black man I had seen standing on the dias before the fighting broke out the first time around. A killing curse went wickedly close to Ginny and I had just enough time to conjure another chair before it strayed off to hit someone else. Hey, it worked once right? It could work again!

It was as if the chair bursting into bits summoned Mrs. Weasley. No sooner was it destroyed, the woman came bursting through the masses and took the bad ass title from my boyfriend when she hollered, "Not my daughter, you bitch!"

The woman was out for blood and she meant business. Mrs. Weasley threw off her cloak and waved the girls away screaming, "Out of my way. She's mine!"

I couldn't help but grin at Mrs. Weasley. Only I had to stop being distracted because another curse came flying in my direction. It had been deflected by someone and I immediately conjured another chair. I was getting pretty good at it.

"What will happen to your children when I kill you?" The woman was taunting Mrs. Weasley. She must have had gotten lessons from the Dark Dude. They seemed to like to hear their own voices and thought what they had to say was important. She wasn't done, "When Mummy's gone the same way as Percy?"

I flinched at that. I thought Percy had a chance to get better, but apparently I was wrong… or the woman was talking trash and he was at the hospital. Mrs. Weasley got my attention again when she screamed, "You." She slashed her wand with each punctuated word sending a spell at her opponent every time, "Will. Never." The insane woman just laughed. "Touch. Our." I could feel Mrs. Weasley's power growing with intensity with each word. "Children. Again!"

Mrs. Weasley's last spell flew at the Death Eater bitch. The wild witch's eyes were wide and crazed, her mouth tilted up in amusement and she cackled with glee even when Mrs. Weasley's spell met its target. And just like that, the crazy lady was down. Mrs. Weasley was a true Gryffindor bad ass.

The trouble was the Dark Dude was enraged. He apparently noticed his sidekick dropping to the floor dead. No-Poo roared in anger and you could see the magic rolling off of him in a wave as it knocked the adults he had been fighting off of their feet. I casted cushioning spells for McGonagall and Slughorn, unfortunately for the last guy he was out of my range and in all honesty, I wasn't exactly sure how much help I was to the two professors.

I heard someone yell "Protego!" with such intensity and power that I wasn't surprised to actually visibly see a shield expand like a shimmering wall to protect Mrs. Weasley from whatever it was Dark Dude shot at her back.

Harry suddenly appeared much like he and Luna had done back up in the Ravenclaw common room. Only Harry wasn't dead. He stood tall and proud with his wand in hand like he was ready to throw down looking nearly as badass as Mrs. Weasley had. Could that have been what Hagrid was yelling about earlier?

The fact that the guy was standing there facing off with No nose was song worthy. For some reason the absurd image of a bard strumming a lute and following Harry singing his tale like Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Lancelot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail struck me and I let out a small huff of a giggle. Harry was definitely braver than Sir Robin because he was facing off with Dark Dude. The weird thing was that they were circling each other as if sizing each other up, looking for a weakness. I thought that only happened in the movies so watching them was surreal. Harry was probably stalling while No nose had to be internally freaking out that he hadn't killed Harry like he had claimed.

My attention was so riveted on what was happening in the middle of the hall that I gasped and jumped in surprise when Neville was suddenly at my side. Thank God I didn't scream. I can't imagine what spells would have flown our way because of the tension in the Great Hall. My Gryffindor still wielding the badass sword, but apparently put his wand away for the time being because his free hand was in mine.

I lost interest in the volley of words between Harry and Dark Dude. I was busy staring at Neville. He looked okay. He looked tired, dirty and a bit singed, but he was okay. My free hand went to his jaw. Neville turned to me and stepped closer. His lips met mine and I was lost to the world. So many times I thought we'd be lost to each other and yet, here we were at the end of it all and all I could think of was that this guy was the best thing in all of Ish-land.

When our kiss ended, I was surprised the two were still talking! Although Harry was doing the majority of the yammering for once. I wasn't really paying much attention to what they were saying. I supposed I should have been because it could have been important, but having Neville there with me kept my mind occupied.

What caught my attention was when the Dark Dude mentioned the Headmaster's name: not Dumbledore, but Snape! They were still circling when he said, "I killed Severus Snape three hours ago," I bit my lip because the man didn't die as No nose had intended. That meant two people didn't die even if he thought he'd killed them both, "and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"

"Yeah it did," Harry smirked because he too knew that Snape wasn't dead. "You're right. But before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done… think and try for some remorse, Riddle…"

Riddle? Was that the man's real name? I whispered to Neville, "He's not a pureblood?"

Neville looked at me and shrugged, "Doesn't seem to be."

"What a hypocrite," I huffed and snuggled into Neville's side. I stifled my yawn as best I could before I quietly asked, "So I was right about the Headmaster? He wasn't such a bad guy, right?"

"Guess not," Neville whispered to me, "You were right. Still he let everyone be tortured."

"True, but he had plenty of counter measures that I wasn't allowed to talk about."

"That potion you gave me is one," Neville remarked and my eyes widened in surprise. "I'm not as dumb as some may think."

"I never thought you were dumb," I huffed. "As if I'd ever consider dating someone that wasn't as smart as me?"

That had Neville grinning at me and he kissed my forehead before turning his attention back to Harry and No nose. They were still going on and on about a wand and its allegiance. I wasn't sure what the whole conversation was about. I was exhausted and wanted to go home to my parents. The entire conversation was confusing. I was sure someone who knew the history of the wand or perhaps the goings on could follow along, but it sounded like Snape killed Dumbledore because of an agreement (I knew there was a story behind Snape's actions as weird as that story was), but Malfoy Jr. had disarmed the old man before that happened and Harry disarmed Jr. some time after that.

I whispered to Neville, "What would you say if Snape wasn't dead?"

He chuckled softly, "I'd say someone pulled a prank on the most evil wizard and utterly proved Harry's point about the wand not belonging to You-Know-Who."

"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it? Does the wand in your hand know its last master was disarmed? Because if it does… I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

The two combatants faced off as the sun came over the horizon. If I were asked to tell the story of tonight's battle I'd swear that the entire scene was straight from a cheesy movie, because life imitated art (or was that art imitated life… I never could get that expression right). The sun coming up was like a sign to begin their duel, but it was over so fast that if you blinked, you'd have missed it.

Predictably the Dark Dude yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"

Harry being the heroic good guy yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Both were cast at the same time, but Harry's was either stronger or all that mumbo jumbo about the wand's allegiance was true because both spells were sent back at Voldemort. No-Poo's wand flew to Harry who snatched it out of the air like he could have done it in his sleep. The Dark Dude on the other hand fell to the ground dead as a door nail.

It was as if everyone in the Hall had been holding their breath. The moment Voldemort fell the entire room gasped. When he didn't get up again the hall exploded into cheers. If I had thought their mourning over Harry's supposed death was loud, their cheering was deafening.

As the cheering slowed to a low rumble, people started to get busy with clearing the Great Hall. I saw McGonagall move No nose out into the small room off of the hall, the same room that Snape had given me the antidote. I guessed she didn't want him tainting the room any longer. Also it was going to keep anyone from spitting on the guy. Gross, sure, but who wouldn't want to just spit in the eye of the man that caused so much pain, death and sadness?

The four house tables were being set up. I frowned sleepily and leaned against Neville who steered me towards his grandmother. I must have been more tired than I realized because he even managed to get me to sit down and put a cup of tea in front of me. I stared at the cup and shuddered. Thankfully a house elf popped in, took the cup sitting in front of me and replaced it with a mug of coffee just the way I drink it. Heaven in a cup. I smiled at the elf, "Thank you."

My stomach growled appreciatively when the food began appearing before us. The tables were filled with such a splendid array of food that I was left smiling and thinking - once again - how much I loved house elves.

I ate my fill, which wasn't saying much because all I could manage was some sausage and toast. Others were busy talking, eating, drinking and recuperating. It was a nice change from before. Their spirits were high, there was an air of relief and happiness that was so different from when I first arrived in Ish-land. As I sipped my coffee I looked around for my brother, but I didn't see him. I tried hard not to panic, "I don't see Andrew."

Neville looked around as well and noted something I had missed, "Madam Pomfrey isn't here either. Look," He pointed in the direction of where the numerous cots used to be, "the injured are moved. They're probably up in the infirmary."

I wanted to believe his explanation. So I went back to my coffee. Trouble was now that I had the doubt planted in my mind, I found it difficult to ignore the question of where Andrew went off to. All thoughts of sleep were dashed from my mind and I was suddenly rather antsy.

That came to an end when I was distracted by a small vibration in my pocket. I sat up straighter in surprise. I supposed with the wards down, the signal was stronger in the entire castle. Well that was damned convenient! I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and flipped it open. Neville was watching me and asked, "What is that?"

"It's a cell phone," I said in relief, "Andrew sent me a message. You're right, he's in the infirmary." I told him as my fingers began responding to let my brother know I was safe as well.

"Muggle devices are deemed useless around magic."

I read Andrew's response and sighed at his… or rather Pomfrey's next message before I responded to Andrew and then to Neville, "That's what Ginny said. I don't know where you guys got your information from. Andrew and I both have cell phones, have had them for most of our magical years of training here and in Salem. Neither school had electricity, so we adapted with solar power to keep them charged," I looked at Neville and bit my lip, "Pomfrey needs me to brew more potions. Said their supply is running low. With Snape…" I left that thought drifting because I wasn't sure how folks would react to hearing that the man was alive and I was certainly not going to be the one to tell him the news in front of everyone. "Anyhow I need to go to the infirmary and get her list."

"Right," Neville said and then looked across the table, "Gran, I'm going to walk Andi up to the infirmary. I'll be back."

Dowager Longbottom peered from her grandson to me. I didn't wait to hear what she had to say. I had already responded to Andrew, put my phone in my pocket and was stepping away from the table by the time she finally deemed to respond, "Keep her safe, Neville."

"Yes, ma'am." I grinned at his Gran with a thank you and Neville escorted me from the Great Hall.

We passed Harry - who looked utterly exhausted - sitting on a bench with Luna. The blonde looked so serene sitting there and she smiled at us. I smiled back saying, "Try to get him to eat something." Harry blinked blearily at us as we kept moving out of the Great Hall.

It wasn't until we reached the infirmary and Neville had both of his arms around me that I realized he was missing something, "What happened to that sword?"

"The Sword of Gryffindor?" Neville asked. As if I knew the name of the sword and really, Gryffindor? That just brought my boyfriend's bad ass level to a higher degree. I just nodded and he grinned at me, "Gave it to McGonagall. It's not like the thing belongs to me. It belongs to the school."

My arms snaked around his neck and I pressed into him, "You looked pretty hawt carrying that sword around."

"You liked that, did you?" Neville's voice grew husky and I shivered in his arms. He pulled me closer and kissed me. The kissing was growing more common placed. I liked that. I could totally get used to that and I melted into him. Not that I had kissed anyone else so I had no one to compare him to, but Neville was a damned good kisser!

My phone vibrated again and I groaned at the interruption. Neville looked at me in question and I sighed softly, "Another text. It's probably Drew wondering why I'm not there yet."

"Is that what the vibration was?"

I giggled at him, "Yes." I pulled away enough to reach into my pocket to show him the phone. I flipped it open in order to read the text and squealed, "It's my mom!"

"You should answer her then. I'll come find you later, yeah?"

I looked up at him from my phone and smiled at him. It was a full two dimpled smile. I really liked the guy. Neville wasn't just a hottie Ish; he was my bad ass Gryffindor boyfriend. "I'd like that."

Neville kissed me again, just a sweet peck on the lips. He then turned me around and encouraged me (read that as he gently pushed me) into the infirmary. "Don't forget to answer your Mum."

"Later, Nev," I said over my shoulder. He gave me a jaunty wave and a dimpled smile. All I could manage was a wistful sigh because really… Neville was dreamy.

I was surprised at just how many people were still in the infirmary. Both Pomfrey and Andrew looked up when I walked in. Pomfrey waved me over and I didn't hesitate to make my way to her. "I have a list of potions on my desk. I will need the priority items by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Can you do this?"

The entire time she was speaking to me, her wand moved and her magic was doing its best to ease the man's pain. It was the bald black man that had been facing off against the Dark Dude. Now I felt doubly bad for not cushioning his fall. "I'll have to look at the list before I can commit to an answer. I'm wiped…" From the sudden concerned look from the healer, I thought I had better elaborate, "Sorry, it's American slang like…" I had to beat my wooly mind into remember their slang and I snapped my fingers when I remembered, "knackered."

"Ah," Pomfrey nodded in understanding. She gestured towards her office, "Have a look then and let me know. If I must, I can send for purchased potions, but I'd rather not. One cannot always trust its purity and potency."

The bald man had looked my way while Pomfrey spoke and quirked an eyebrow, "That's high praise coming from Poppy. You must be good."

He wasn't wrong. Pomfrey said that she trusted me to make her potions stores. I knew that already, but that she admitted that she preferred my potions to ones that were purchased! That made me giddy. I tried to remain professional (even if I was smiling so big my face hurt) and not squeal like I wanted to. I told the man, "I agree with your assessment of Madam Pomfrey's praise." I shot a glance at the healer before admitting, "I just hope I live up to her expectations." I then apologized, "I'm sorry I couldn't cushion your fall back there. I was able to help the professors, but you were out of range for me."

He grinned, showing lots of white teeth, "That's alright. I'm an auror. I'm accustomed to landing on my backside. Besides, Poppy will have me good as new in no time." He extended his hand to me, "Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Andrea Chambers," I responded and shook his hand. I gestured to the rest of the room noting, "I didn't expect so many injured to still be around. Are the hospitals all full?"

Pomfrey's eyebrow rose, "There is only St. Mungo's in London and yes, it is quite full. We sent the more critical to their wards."

I looked around and noted there were no redheads in the room. "Can you tell me about Percy Weasley's condition? Is he…" My words trailed off when I saw the healer's mouth thin to a pressed line and I shook my head, "Sorry. I'll just go check that list and see what I can do for you, Ma'am."

I didn't know why I was so hung up over this Percy guy who I had never even spoke to before, but the other Weasleys, the ones I had spoken to (except for the jerk faced Ron), were super nice. I hated to see their family broken up.

The list sitting on Pomfrey's desk was the usual list of healing potions that I made for her, including Snape's quietet nerui. Thankfully she had also listed them in the order of priority. Naturally healing potions and pain relievers were on the top of the list. Blood replenishing and dreamless sleep came in a close second. Last were quietet nerui, bruising balm and burn salve.

I walked out of the office staring at the list and began calculating the time it took to brew the two potions by the required deadline and did a quick tempus. I sighed in relief when I realized I'd be able to take a nap first. I stood beside Pomfrey with the list in hand and told her, "I can get the priority potions done in time. If I can find competent help I'll be able to get the others done by tomorrow night."

Pomfrey nodded, "Excellent."

"Would you mind if I stole my brother for a moment? Our mom texted and would like to hear from us both to make sure we're really okay."

The healer gave a cursory look around her hospital ward before she nodded, "Yes, tell him I'd like him back in six hours. That way he will have rest and I can take a nap while he watches over the ward."

"Thank you!" With a casual wave goodbye to Shacklebolt, I practically bounced over to Andrew.

My brother saw me coming and motioned towards the parchment in my hand, "Is that the list?"

"Yes, but I don't have to start now. I can start this afternoon. I'm beat. Oh and Pomfrey said you can go for now, but she wants you back here in six hours to relieve her."

Andrew nodded and finished with the man he had been working with. I looked at the patient and felt my heart drop, "Remus?"

His eyes took a while to flutter open and once he had them fixed on me they were still half closed. Remus gave me a tired smile, "Hey, Andi."

"You got hurt…" I didn't mean to sound so accusatory, but the man had a baby boy that needed his daddy!

Remus flinched and admitted, "I saw the bitch that killed my wife. I'm lucky I got away with my body parts intact, Bellatrix Lestrange is an excellent dueler." He then grinned, "But she was no match for Molly."

"I'm glad Dora was avenged." I said even if I hadn't a clue who Bellatrix and Molly were. I took his hand in mine and gave it a squeeze, "Now you need to focus on getting healthier and get home to Teddy."

"Right," He squeezed back, "Healthy and back to Teddy," He took a slow steadying breath that hitched, "Thanks… both of you…"

"Take care, Remus." I said and tugged Andrew's arm to encourage him to follow me. Once we made it out the door I asked him, "Will you come with me?"

"Where?" Andrew asked, but I fidgeted instead of answering. That made him suspicious, which I couldn't blame him, but still… "What's wrong?"

I looked around to see we were the only ones around, but still raised a privacy ward before I said, "Snape may need medical attention. Can you help?"

"I thought he was dead. Riddle said he killed him three hours…" Riddle… that was still weird to hear him called that, but it was better than the 'You-Know-Who' or worse 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' not to mention it was probably better than U-No-Poo, No nose or Dark Dude… nah… Andrew stopped in his tracks and asked, "He's been suffering for hours?"

I huffed at the accusation in his gaze stating, "He was okay when I left him. I did a healing spell and gave him potions, but I had to keep helping. The fighting had only stopped, the battle wasn't over. I don't want to bother Madam Pomfrey. Besides I'm not sure how people are going to react to him still being alive."

"I'd like to think people would be pleased…" Andrew said as he continued walking with me.

"Me too, but why chance it before we know for sure? Oh, Mom texted that the wizarding radio station had been going on about the battle," I said and dialed her cell phone without further comment.

"I forgot to charge my phone, the battery died," Andrew admitted. "I was lucky to get those texts off to you."

The phone was answered after the first ring and Mom sounded so relieved that one of us was finally calling home, "Andi!" I could hear the Major in the back asking about Andrew before Mom asked me, "Please tell me you're both okay!"

"Hi Mom, tell Dad that we're both okay," I smiled at her voice. It was so good to hear it, "Drew forgot to charge his cell so his battery is dead. Everything is quieting down here. The wards were torn down so we have no blockage on the signal."

Andrew pulled the cell from my ear and hit the speaker icon, "Hey Mom."

"Drew!" I could tell from the echoing sound that Mom had hit the speaker icon on her end as well. "What happened?"

"Where do we start?" Andrew asked as he leaned against the hallway wall. I stood next to him and let out a small sigh of exasperation. I really wanted to keep moving to the Headmaster's office to find Snape. "Last night there was a bang that woke us up. Turns out a student attacked one of the Death Eater staff."

Andrew began the story and I tugged his arm after he was halfway through the telling and he handed me the phone thinking I wanted a chance to talk. I did one better, while I told them what I had gone through, I started walking towards the griffin guarding the Headmaster's office.

We told them about what we saw of the battle, told them about Harry's one on one with the big ugly No nose, I told them about the giants and the statues, the acromantulas and the centaurs, I told them about Neville and the sword and McGonagall and the charging desks.

When we reached the tower I was telling them, "As Drew mentioned, things are starting to settle down, but I don't know when we can go home. Madam Pomfrey needs potions and Andrew isn't done helping with the injured."

Andrew reluctantly agreed, "The hospital ward is still full of patients. I go back on duty in six hours."

"Then we'll just have to come to you." Mom said resolutely and I grinned.

"That's awesome. I could really use a Major hug right about now." I admitted.

Dad chuckled, "That's music to my ears, Andi. We'll see you soon. Stay safe, both of you, understand?"

"Yes, sir." We both agreed immediately.

We had made it to the Headmaster's office by the time we had said our goodbyes. The statue that guarded the entrance was blown off its pedestal and was tilted. Andrew frowned at the guardian and asked, "Do you need a password or can we go up…"

The statue growled, "Don't mind me… just go right on up."

I had never heard the statue speak before. Its voice was deep, slow and gravely. I bit my lip to keep from giggling. He sounded like an Ish stone Eeyore! I managed to temper my amusement to sound only happy… okay maybe giddy because it growled at me when I chirped, "Thank you!"

We made it up to the headmaster's office and I looked around. All of the portraits were staring down at us. That was creepy. They were less nerve racking when feigning sleep. The largest painting, the man with blue twinkling eyes and hung by the headmaster's desk grinned at us, "Ah, it's the Chambers siblings coming to visit."

I smiled up at him, "Pleasure to finally meet you, Headmaster Dumbledore, but this isn't entirely a social call. We were hoping to find the headmaster's quarters and check on Headmaster Snape."

"What!"

The sound was alarming really. I flinched from the bombarding sound. It came from nearly every portrait: some cried out, others gasped, but still it was loud. I wasn't sure what everyone said as they continued speaking over themselves, but Dumbledore managed to calm them down and said to me, "We thought him dead. Portraits had reported in saying that Tom had-"

"I'm sorry. Who?" I interrupted.

"Tom Riddle…"

"Oh!" Both Andrew and I nodded at that. Andrew told Dumbledore, "Please excuse my sister; Potter called him Riddle, not Tom. Sorry, please continue."

"Did he now?" Dumbledore's eyes sparkled happily and he tried explaining again, "As I was saying, Tom had declared quite publicly that he killed Severus."

Andrew gave me a look that I wasn't overly fond of; it was his 'I told you so' look. I wanted to smack it off of his face. So instead I responded to Dumbledore, "That's true. The No nose Dark Dude did say that," I ignored the snickers at my moniker for Voldemort and kept talking, "but he didn't actually kill the Headmaster. What he did was have that big snake of his attack him. Harry apparently got to him right away - or very soon after - and put pressure on his wound until I got there.

"Between the antidote Headmaster Snape gave me days ago, Harry applying pressure to the wound, a healing spell that the headmaster taught me and my potions…" I shrugged, "Headmaster Snape was still breathing when I had him brought to safety by Tuppy."

There was a buzz of multiple conversations, thankfully all of them sounded positive in the fact that they were pleased to hear that Snape was still alive. Having heard his name, Tuppy popped into the office with a beaming smile, "I's is pleased to see Miss and Sir is okay."

"Tuppy!" I cried out. I loved that house elf. I crouched immediately and hugged him. He was such a good sport that he laughed and patted my shoulder. "Thank you for everything."

The house elf beamed proudly and told me (as he often did), "Tuppy is just doings his job."

"Nope! You're the best house elf ever." I giggled because that was one routine of ours I'd be happy to do for years to come. I asked, "Are the other house elves okay? You were all so brave fighting like that."

Dumbledore seemed to be their spokesman because he alone asked for clarification, "The house elves fought against witches and wizards?"

Tuppy's ears drooped as he looked up at the portraits and I smiled proudly at my friend's courage. I clarified for the portraits, "Of course. As were the centaurs. The magical world is theirs too. Besides, they were defending their home, their family and the students. House elves are a lot stronger and smarter than some people give them credit for. I'm just worried that one of my friends might have been hurt during the skirmish. I don't know if my potions or Andrew's healing can help."

The house elf smiled gratefully at me, but it didn't last when he had to tell me the news. "Only one beings hurt, but two is beings dead. Elf magics will be healing Dinky."

"And Winky?"

"Is being fine and help in kitchen," Tuppy reassured me.

I breathed easier and nodded, but I still needed to know, "I was wondering where you took Headmaster Snape. I wanted to take Andrew to him to see if he can help heal him."

"In Master's not quarters," Tuppy answered immediately.

Snape's 'not quarters'… what the hell? I didn't know what the elf meant. Apparently Dumbledore knew because he chuckled, "I'm afraid Severus was never comfortable up here in the headmaster's quarters. He continued to use his old quarters down in the dungeons. His 'not quarters', I believe, would be my old sleeping quarters here in the headmaster's tower."

Dumbledore motioned towards stairs at the back of the large room and Andrew started moving immediately with a curt, "Thank you, sir."

I rolled my eyes at my brother's back. I then waved goodbye to the portraits and followed him up the stairs calling back, "Thank you!"

Andrew was standing at the top of the stairs waiting for Tuppy and me to join him. He looked pointedly at the door and I frowned at him. Andrew motioned to Tuppy to go ahead, "It won't open with a simple alohomora."

Tuppy grinned and snapped his fingers. Elf magic was a wonderful thing. The door was unlocked just that easily. I whispered to him as Andrew opened the door, "I'll always think you're the best, Tuppy."

"Miss just needs call and I's will help," He gave a small bow to me and popped away.

The room was dimly lit with a few candles, a low fire and a sliver of light that made it past the closed curtains. The room was a surprisingly subdued affair in dark reds and browns. Surprising since Dumbledore's portrait robes were a garish teal and yellow affair.

I didn't want to disturb him, but he needed to be checked. I didn't want to scare him by our sudden appearance either so I stage whispered, "Headmaster, it's Andi. I brought Andrew to see if you need more healing than I already did."

Snape's eyes fluttered open and found mine. His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, but he didn't speak with words. I smiled at him and motioned Andrew over, "Andrew is here to do a quick check on you. Madam Pomfrey is still super busy and to be honest I wasn't sure if you wanted anyone to know you're still alive yet."

Andrew wasted no time to start his diagnostic spells and any healing spells he thought were necessary. Snape's lips twitched into a tired half grin. I continued talking, "The portraits downstairs know you're in here, but I get the impression they aren't allowed to say anything the current headmaster doesn't want them to."

The headmaster blinked again so I felt pretty sure I was right. The man then frowned at me so I assumed he wanted to know what happened. So just like last time while on the phone with Mom and the Major, Andrew and I began telling him everything we knew.

Andrew told Snape that he was outed by Harry. The man frowned his confusion so Andrew elaborated by explaining that Harry told No nose that Snape was Dumbledore's man, blah blah. Snape's eyes narrowed at that. Oops? I supposed that he wasn't overly thrilled by that fact, but still it meant that folks could be happy to hear he was still alive and yes, we ended with the fact that Harry killed Voldemort.

We suddenly heard applause and cheering from the office below. Snape gripped my wrist and pointed to door. "Sure, no problem." I naturally agreed to investigate because I was curious to who could be down there.

While Andrew continued his care of Snape, I went to eavesdrop. I made it to the midsection of the stairwell where I wouldn't be seen yet could still hear the voice talking downstairs. It was Harry speaking either to a portrait or someone else. It was more talk about that stupid wand. I was curious about it because it seemed to be pretty important to the happenings and the end result of Riddle's demise.

"I'm putting the elder wand back where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death like Ignotus, its power will be broken, won't it?" Harry was saying, "The previous master will never have been defeated. That'll be the end of it."

Harry sounded pretty sure of his decision so I quietly made my way back up to the headmaster's bedroom. Whatever was going on down there really wasn't any of my business. I went back to Snape and told him, "It's Harry and I think he's talking to Dumbledore. He seemed close to him." Snape blinked slowly and I half-lied since Harry seemed to want to keep the fate of that wand a secret, "Anyway, I didn't stick around to hear what they were talking about."

Mom and Dad showed up the next morning as promised. Mom helped me brew more potions. Dad helped with delegating folks around to do clean up and get the place organized so the castle wasn't a health hazard and death trap. I'm not sure anyone ever realized he was a No-Maj because they carried out his orders without question.

War was hell and people died: Nymphadora Lupin, Colin Creevey, that boy I had in my Arithmancy class, a half dozen rebels that I hadn't had the privilege of meeting, countless Death Eaters including Pimple, three giants, two house elves, Voldemort, his ugly snake and Percy Weasley. Yet life went on, the castle was rebuilt and people healed.

It was a week after the battle when we went home.  
It was six months after the battle when we finally were able to take our NEWTs.  
It was a year after the battle before Snape was healthy enough to take me on as his apprentice.  
It was two years after the battle when Andrew became a Healer at St. Paul's in New York.  
It was three years after the battle when I became a Potions Mistress.  
It was four years after the battle when I married Neville Longbottom.  
It was five years after the battle before we joined the staff at Hogwarts: Neville became the new Herbology professor and I took over as Potions professor.  
It was six years after the battle when we had our first son.

Life was good.

* * *

 **AN** : As I mentioned in the first chapter, the main idea of the story was to have an American in Hogwarts that didn't know everything that was going on and to tell what was happening at the school while Harry was off horcrux hunting.

In Chapter 29 of Deathly Hallows Neville spoke about events that happened at Hogwarts while he walked with the trio through the tunnel from the Hog's Head to the Room of Requirement:

 **Covered in Chapter 02** : Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defense Against the Dark Arts, except now it's just the Dark Arts. Alecto, Amycus' sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is compulsory for everyone.

 **First mentioned in Chapter 03:** We're supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions-

 **Covered in Chapter 04:** Michael Corner went and got caught releasing a first-year they'd chained up, and they tortured him pretty badly.

 **Covered in Chapter 06:** We've all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drove wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being reestablished. I got this one for asking her how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got.

 **Covered in Chapter 07:** Did you break into Gringotts? Did you escape on a dragon? Terry Boot got beaten up by Carrow for yelling about it in the Great Hall at dinner!

Anyhow this is it. I hope you enjoyed the story. Last up is a quick epilogue.

Ajellah


	11. Epilogue

**Nineteen Years Later**

"When the time draws nearer, we can assist you in finding a suitable substitute to teach your potions classes," Minerva told me and I nodded in understanding. I hadn't intended for the headmistress to be around when I was told the results of my test, but she happened into the ward at the most inopportune time and it wasn't as if I could just obliviate the woman. Although the thought was tempting considering the amused grin on her face.

"Thank you… both of you," I said. Poppy was smiling at me. Her smile was so big I thought she might hurt something. The usually stoic woman gave my hand an encouraging squeeze before she hugged me. I instinctively hugged her back. I was still stunned by the results. It didn't make sense, "I just… it's not like… I mean…"

Minerva laughed and pulled me in for a hug. I, of course, hugged back because it was hard not to become close to people you went through a war with. I adored these women. They had been there with me throughout so many years of my life. They were like aunts to me - much as the majority of the staff members felt like family - and just like any familial relations there were times I would like to disown them. Which described how I currently felt about Minerva for laughing at my current predicament.

Poppy nudged me towards the door with a reminder, "Be sure to tell your Mum or you'll never hear the end of it."

"I will," and I would because Poppy wasn't wrong about my mother. But as I walked out of the hospital ward, my mind was buzzing with excitement, fear and confusion.

Pregnant. Poppy said I was pregnant. I was pregnant. Again.

How did I… no, scratch that, I knew exactly _how_ I ended up pregnant, but we had been so careful. Three months. It was Halloween and three months ago was… Oh. We were careful every time except the night we had a bit too much to drink while celebrating Neville's birthday. Not to mention the boys were out of the house with the grandparents so there was plenty of celebrating…

I was too old to have another child. Sure I was a witch so technically I wasn't too old, but I was ready to have fun with my life. Frank was in his third year, the twins were in their first. It was time to enjoy my time with my family and go on adventures with the children much like Andrew and I did with Mom when we were younger. It was not an opportune time to start all over again with a baby: O'dark thirty feedings, crying, teething, pooping and diapers!

I was idly rubbing my belly as I walked down the hall. A baby… I was pregnant… I was having trouble wrapping my mind around the news. On the other hand, I missed the feel of a cooing bundle in my arms and the smell of a freshly bathed infant.

We were going to have another child. Wow.

Maybe we'd finally have a little girl. I was hoping for a girl when I was pregnant with Matthew and Mark. I wondered who would be more excited by the news of another baby: Mom, Gran or Winky.

I pulled out my cell phone and sent Neville a text asking him to meet me at the Entrance Hall before the feast. I couldn't very well tell him via a text. Well I could, but that just seemed too impersonal. Not to mention that dinner was due to start in less than thirty minutes so I didn't have much time to procrastinate. The last thing I wanted was Neville to find out about the pregnancy in an announcement at the Halloween feast in front of the entire school.

I looked at my cell phone and started to do the math. It was 1647 hrs in Scotland, we were 9 hours ahead of the East coast so it was only 0547 there and… meh, my parents would be happy with the news regardless of the time difference. I sent Mom a text and made my way down the marble staircase.

There was no sign of Neville, but my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. It still took me by surprise that cell phones continued to work even with the new wards surrounding the school grounds. I looked at the number before answering and had to laugh at who it was, "Hullo, Daddy."

"My baby is having a baby." The Colonel said in an oddly sing song voice.

I giggled at the man. He may be old, but he was just as giddy as a kid at Christmas when it came to his grandchildren. Andrew hadn't had a child yet, but I supposed getting married first would make the parents happier. I teased Dad, "That is what the test said, yes."

"Think it's a girl this time?" He asked hopefully.

"I don't know. I'd like that, but I don't want to know beforehand. I rather like being surprised." I lowered my voice as students passed on their way to the Great Hall, "I haven't had a chance to tell Neville yet."

"You told your parents before you told your husband?" Dad didn't sound very impressed. Men, they had a habit of sticking together on certain points. This one seemed to be important for some reason. Minerva and Poppy were making their way into the Great Hall. They both gave me knowing looks and I rolled my eyes at them.

"I didn't want to do this via text and he was out in Greenhouse Three with his last class. I asked him to meet me before the feast, but…"

The Colonel laughed, "We all know how difficult it is to get that man of yours out of a greenhouse."

"That is an unfortunate truth," I agreed.

"Your mom wants to know how far along you are," Dad continued.

"Twelve weeks," I admitted. Dad snorted apparently having done the math and I grinned, "Not a word, old man."

Dad laughed harder and soon Mom was on the line, "We'll be there for you, honey."

"Thanks, Mom." I was looking out the door and was growing concerned when I saw his students coming up the walk without him. I sighed, "Neville isn't here yet. I don't know if I will get a chance to tell him until after the feast."

"Don't worry honey," Mom reassured me, "He won't care when you tell him. He'll be thrilled."

"I hope you're right." I bit my lip. "I have to go. The students are arriving."

"I love you, Andi." Mom said and I could hear dad in the background shouting his love as well, "Give our love Neville and kiss the boys for me."

"I love you both, too." I ended the call and hid my cell phone in my pocket just as the third year students came into the Entrance Hall. The majority of them greeted me: some rather loudly others more subdued and my son gave me a small wave.

"Hullo, Professor Auntie!" The rapscallion said.

I ruffled James' hair, "Good evening, Mr. Potter." I winked at Frank and watched as the two joined their friends making their way through the crowd to the Gryffindor table.

As the last of the students made their way through the Entrance Hall, strong arms wound their way around my waist. His nose nuzzled into my neck and his voice whispered warmly across my skin, "Hullo, love."

The man still managed to give me chills even after fifteen years of marriage. Only we were running out of time. The Halloween feast was set to begin soon so I didn't delay telling him, "You have two minutes to stop what you're doing so I can tell you my news before the feast starts."

"Can't it wait?" He asked while pulling me back into an alcove. "I haven't seen you all day."

"You were in the greenhouses all day and I was down in the dungeons," I giggled at him when he pressed me against the stone wall in the shadows and promptly began snogging me. I breathlessly reminded him, "Nev… we're not students anymore."

"We didn't do this enough when we were." I laughed, but he wasn't wrong. I had only moved to the country the winter of our final year, not to mention the stupid war got in the way. Although we did plenty of making out when we were both apprentices.

I groaned when the Great Hall doors closed with a loud click. Time was up. Well it was his fault so I slipped out from the alcove and made my way to the feast. When I reached the double doors, he slid his arms around my waist again and pressed in close to me asking, "What news did you want to tell me?"

I gave him a saucy smile over my shoulder and informed him, "I'm pregnant."

Unfortunately I had managed to open the Great Hall doors and taken three steps inside before what I said clicked in my husband head. Neville asked, rather loudly, "You're what?"

I stopped walking and turned to him. I took a calming breath and told him in a clear voice so he wouldn't mistake me again, "I said I'm pregnant."

"How are you…" Neville looked around when the entire school tittered at his question. I hadn't realized everyone was listening, but I supposed I should have known they would be. Neville flailed his arms and retorted, "Well, I bloody well now how-"

"Neville!" I reprimanded. I mean _really_. It was one thing to think such a thing, but to say it in front of the entire school? I bit my lip nervously. He didn't seem very happy, shocked yes, but not happy so I had to find out for certain. So naturally I put the man on the spot, "Does this mean you're not happy?"

"Not happy?" Neville blinked and apparently noticed how worried I looked. He gave me his dimpled grin and scooped me in his arms. He did a silly twirl, swinging me in his arms and laughed. "Love, I'm ecstatic! Just stunned is all."

He set me on my feet and kissed me. The school cheered at that point. Our hug soon became a group event when three smaller versions of my husband joined in. I kissed the top of each of my sons' heads, "Sorry you had to hear it that way."

Frank laughed, "It's okay, Mum. Hearing Dad yell he knows how to make you pregnant was much more embarrassing… for him."

Mark wrinkled his nose, "Yeah, Dad. Knowing Mum is pregnant is weird enough. We don't have to be reminded that you two still have sex."

Matthew made gagging noises and Neville ruffled his hair, "That's enough of that."

On our way to the head table, we walked the boys back to the Gryffindor table, Mark skittered off to the Ravenclaw table and his friends. Many of the students, mostly the girls, were congratulating us as we walked by until James piped in, "I can't wait to send that video to Mum!"

Neville groaned and practically begged the boy, "Tell me you didn't get me yelling that in front of the entire school…"

I looked around at the student body and noted numerous heads bent over their phones. I grinned at my husband, "I think it's too late."

"Maybe we need to ban all these mobiles…" Neville muttered and pulled my chair out for me.

I slid into my seat and patted his hand. He was so sweet, but there was no getting rid of the cell phones because I wasn't about to give up mine. Speaking of my phone, my text messages were blowing up. Reactions from my friends as their children sent them the news, no doubt.

Neville pulled his own phone from his pocket when he received three text messages in a row. Apparently he forgot to turn off the sound. Neville groaned when he read them, "Did you have to teach Gran how to use one of these things. She's going nonstop about how I didn't call her to tell the news, she had to hear it from your mother!"

Minerva didn't bother hiding her amusement when she said, "If memory serves, you were one of the many people fighting to bring our world into this century. It would appear one should be careful what they wish for, Professor Longbottom."

* * *

 **AN:** Well, I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I enjoyed taking you there.

Ajellah


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